Spotted on Strava: Record Breakers + History Makers
多种运动
Records were broken, history was made - and honoured, and fears were confronted during an impressive week of activities on Strava.
A new world record
If you haven't seen the new Guinness World Record from Fred and Mathilde de Lanouvelle, now is the time to truly appreciate it. As part of an epic sixteenth birthday treat, Fred and Mathilde set out for a ride on their tandem. Sixteen days (117-hours and 25 minutes of ride time) later, they had broken the record for the "largest GPS drawing by bicycle (team)" - 1,343 miles / 2,162 km around France. Simply stunning on so many levels.
Records & stories in Chicago
There's already been a lot written about Kelvin Kiptum's new marathon world record (2:00:05!!!), but what does it take to pace that kind of time? Barnaba Kipkoech, one of Kiptum's pacers, tracked his 'morning run' over the weekend.
Kiptum's was just one of many incredible stories to come out of Chicago. Another that caught our eye was that of Latoya Snell, who went back to the race despite encountering a medical emergency at the event back in 2019. Kudos Latoya for facing up to your fears!
Pogačar makes it three
Tadej Pogačar is pretty special, isn't he? The 25-year-old became just the third rider - and the first since Fausto Coppi - to win three-in-a-row at Il Lombardia, the final Classic of the European Cycling season. Pogačar made his initial move 20 miles / 33km from the finish, to add another line to his ever expanding list of cycling records. Andrea Bagioli was second, and Primož Roglič third.
Aside from the celebrations around Pogacar, there was one rider who deserves a special chapeau: Thibaut Pinot. One of the most popular pro riders, and a hero in France, Pinot signed off on a glittering career at Il Lombardia.
Gravel World Champions crowned
It was a big weekend of cycling in Italy. While the streets of Como played host to Il Lombardia, Treviso played host to the UCI Gravel World Championships. Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma stormed to victory in the 86 mile / 140km pro women's race, taking the win in 4:51:15. In the men's race, Matej Mohoric took the title in a race that included Wout van Aert. Van Aert, who recorded a faster Moving Time during the race than Mohoric, lost around nine minutes to a mechanical issue and ended up finishing eighth overall.
History's ultimate footrace
Plenty of races claim to be steeped in history. Most of those claims pale into insignificance when compared to the Spartathlon. Around 490BC, renowned long distance runner Pheidippides was asked to hot-foot it to Sparta to seek help in the war against the Persians. The 139 miles / 245km route from Athens to Sparta took him little more than a day, and now serves as the inspiration for one of the toughest foot races on the planet: the Spartathlon. Fotis Zisimopoulos was the winner of 2023 edition of the race, finishing in 19:54:55. Simen Holvik was second (22:17:23), with American Camille Herron the first female across the line (third overall) - 22:35:31.
