Record-breaking exploits TODAY!

The 24-hour static cycling world record is set to come under threat today (11th December). Tom Newman from Fulham is aiming to surpass the record of 722.383 km (448.76 miles) on a Wattbike set by RAAM cyclist Jim Rees at the Cycle Show in October.



Newman’s main motivation is raising money for the Princess Alice Hospice, but the 25-year-old athlete has ensured that he will be spurred along to break the record by inviting friends to pay for 30 and 60 minute slots to ride alongside him. He has hired two Wattbikes for the challenge at the Horsley Sports Club in Surrey where he will start his marathon ride at 3pm.



He said: “I think one of the toughest things will be keeping going throughout the night. I’ve sold slots to make sure I’m not riding on my own!”



He also has a live band, party and festive cakes to help him along and has put up a cash prize for the winner of a Wattbike peak power test, which involves cycling as hard as possible for six seconds to record a power score. The current record is 2159 Watts, a score that comes close to those achieved by the likes of Sir Chris Hoy!



Newman continued: “I’m hoping to break the 24 hour record. I did a bucket-load of miles in 12 hours when I tested myself out a few weeks ago. This isn’t my main focus for training, but it’s something I decided to do at the start of the year and I intend to enjoy myself. I had originally planned to do it outdoors in the summer on a 20mile loop but I was involved in an accident where I fractured my skull and most of my season was written off.



Newman, who competes for Pro-Vo2, has taken part in numerous Ironman events and represented Great Britain at the World Long Distance Championships in Prague last year.

He added: “This challenge is really good training for me and I really like the Wattbike. It’s a great way to build power and work on specific programmes. It’s the first bike I think that really does this, particularly as I hate turbo training!”



To sponsor Tom visit www.justgiving.com/24hourtom.