Cycling: Portobello man breaks 24hr cycling record

Portobello cyclist Andrew Nicholson before and  during the early stages of his attempt to break...
Portobello cyclist Andrew Nicholson before and during the early stages of his attempt to break the New Zealand outdoor 24-hour cycling record at the Mosgiel velodrome yesterday. Photos by Stephen Jaquiery

Portobello cyclist Andrew Nicholson has shattered the NZ outdoor 24-hour cycling record, notching up 776.1km at the Mosgiel Velodrome.

His brother, Chris Nicholson, said this morning his brother had done everything right and had performed to the best of his ability with everything from preparation and nutrition to pacing during the ride.

He was impressed with the support shown for his brother.

"It was a big plus for the Otago community - Andrew's pretty new in Otago, and it was awesome the way people got behind him... there was a big crowd there this morning."


EARLIER STORY: Round and round he goes.

By the time you read this - all going well - Portobello cyclist Andrew Nicholson will have been circling the Mosgiel velodrome continuously for a day.

What sounds like madness is actually an attempt to break the New Zealand outdoor 24-hour cycling record.

That stands at 691km - set by Kapiti rider Stuart Downes in 2012.

Nicholson, a former Winter Olympic speed skater, started at 7am yesterday and was due to finish at 7am today.

By 9.30pm yesterday, he had completed 500km at an average speed of 34.3kmh, which put him on track to travel 800km by 7am this morning and smash the record.

Ahead of the event, the 44-year-old relieving teacher was upbeat about his chances, having completed 400km at a 36kmh average in a training ride.

''I'm not going to maintain 36kmh through the night but I don't need to. If I can do 36kmh for 400km, I'd have to slow down to a complete stop before I wouldn't beat it.''

What got him thinking about the record was an epic ride in August when he took off from Portobello at 4am to see a bit of Central Otago.

After reaching Alexandra, he carried on to Ranfurly then looped back through Middlemarch for a 470km day out.

''The average speed was pretty good - about 27kmh. So I looked up the New Zealand 24-hour record and thought I could do that.''

Nicholson is an experienced cyclist - he has competed in national championships and the 1991 Tour of Southland - and says the family rivalry with brother Chris has always pushed him to a higher level.

Chris (47), a New Zealand Olympic representative at both speed-skating and cycling, is part of the support crew for the record bid and lent his brother his specialist time-trial bike.

It is a bike Nicholson will get to know well, as he is planning to stay on it for the whole 24 hours.

''I've got a system for peeing - I robbed it from Steve Gurney - which involves the modification of a condom and a tube.Seriously, it's not worth stopping. When you stop, your average speed drops phenomenally.''

Nicholson, who moved to Dunedin from the West Coast at the start of the year, said he was lucky to have good flexibility, which was key to surviving long periods in the time trial position.

Boredom was a potential enemy but one he had anticipated defeating.

''You can switch into a really good zone. You don't have to worry about traffic.

There's no external distractions.

Getting into a really good flow state feels quite nice. Yes it's boring and yes it does drag on and it's a long, long time but it's not a bad feeling. It's semi-enjoyable.''

As well as chasing the record, he will be raising money for the University of Otago's Centre for Translational Cancer Research.

 -by Sean Flaherty

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