Handbiker Schipper sets straight hour world record again: “Shoulders hurt a bit now”

Hand biker Geert Schipper reclaims the hourly world record. He traveled 47 kilometers and 289 meters on the bike track of the Alkmaar Velodrome. He also set a record exceeding 42 kilometers in 2018.

The previous record was held by multiple Paralympic champion Jetze Plat, who was in Alkmaar at Schipper’s invitation. He raced just over 44 kilometers in 2019.

For comparison: Ellen van Dijk set the women’s hourly world record of 49,254 kilometers in barrier-free cycling this summer. For men, this was Eddy Merckx’s world hour record for a long time. In recent years, Filippo Ganna’s 56,792 was a temporary high, with men traveling more than 50 kilometers per hour.

Schipper was not surprised afterwards that he had advanced 44 kilometers from Plat. “I thought so, or I wouldn’t have started. i have the max effort Put it to make it successful. Only one bad day could have prevented it.”

Schipper did not immediately think that he had crossed 47 kilometers: “I was hoping for 46 kilometers.” Physically, the damage afterward wasn’t all that bad: “I have some sore shoulders but mostly very stiff legs.”