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Chris ‘Hoppo’ Hopkinson attempts Zwift distance record

Ongoing attempt has not been without bumps in the road despite taking place in a virtual world

How long can you last on an indoor trainer before boredom gets the better of you? Chris ‘Hoppo’ Hopkinson, the first Briton to officially complete the Race Across America (RAAM) solo, is currently trying to break the Zwift distance record as a fundraiser for Solo RAAM 2017.

Zwift is the indoor training software which allows you to ride your bike online in a virtual world. The current distance record for it is 1,620km and writing ahead of his attempt, the 49-year-old Hopkinson said: “I plan to bury that in one continuous ride!”

The record is held by Derek Boocock who completed the distance in 71 hours 40 minutes, including breaks. The actual ride time was 52 hours 37 minutes meaning an average speed of 30.7km/h. He said his longest sleep was for two hours.

Announcing his attempt, which began on Sunday, Hopkinson said: “The more people I can get riding with me on Zwift the better. If I can get a thousand people over the 3 days and they all buy just 1 mile that will be amazing! Miles are for sale at £5/$7 per mile and 10 miles gets you on the support crew shirt.”

Details of how to donate can be found here.

After 900km, Hopkinson suffered a crash – Zwift, obviously, not his bike. This was quickly resolved and Zwift have said they will resolve issues so that no data is lost.

He also suffered a more traditional cycling problem.

A couple of hours ago, he wrote on Facebook: “Been struggling with nausea and sickness for a few hours now. Because of this I have not been able to feed and drink properly making me feel even worse. To stop this vicious circle I am about to take a 2 hour sleep break.”

That break was subsequently shortened to 90 minutes because Hopkinson says longer breaks make it harder to get started again.

At the time of writing, he was 48 hours in and had done 1,122km.

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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6 comments

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Wolfcastle50 | 7 years ago
5 likes

I like space invaders and I like cycling.

Win

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
1 like

You'd have to be daft to think Zwift is more space invaders than cycling 

Avatar
Freddy56 | 7 years ago
1 like

daft. more space invaders than cycling.

Ok if you are being held by isis but for some one with a front door that opens

....daft

 

Avatar
stenmeister replied to Freddy56 | 7 years ago
0 likes
Freddy56 wrote:

daft. more space invaders than cycling.

Ok if you are being held by isis but for some one with a front door that opens

....daft

 

 

I agree on the space invaders comparison but the guy did do the Race Across America so I think he has proved himself in the outdoor world.

Avatar
TheFatAndTheFurious replied to stenmeister | 7 years ago
0 likes
stenmeister wrote:

I agree on the space invaders comparison but the guy did do the Race Across America so I think he has proved himself in the outdoor world.

He also rode 23 out of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, solo, with a fractured arm after being involved in a crash.

Fair to say he's got a determined streak about him.

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
0 likes

Brutal. GL! laugh

 

 

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