Former holder: Sam Whittingham (l) ©Team Varna

In April 1999, the Dempsey-MacCready Hour Record Prize was put on offer by Dempsey World Record Associates.

The challenge is for the first rider of a human-powered vehicle (HPV) to equal or surpass a distance of 90km/55.94 miles in one hour.

Normally, honor and prestige are enough to drive people to break records. But for the HPV Hour Record, there is now the extra incentive of a US$25,000 cash prize.

Supplemental awards of US$2,000 were offered to any competitor who could break the official Hour Record by three percent or more during the five-year period of the prize. These awards are yet to be claimed.

The current HPV Hour Record holder is German Lars Teutenberg. In August 1999, he powered his HPV WhiteHawk to 81.16km/50.42 miles in the permitted 60 minutes.

A computer model of the HPV Hour Record indicated it would take the combination of a national-caliber racing cyclist, riding a world-class HPV, along with an excellent course and ideal conditions, to claim the Dempsey-MacCready Prize.

It would be difficult, but it could be done.

The required human power is formidable. Only top competitive cyclists can manage the more than 400 watts necessary to cover 90km/55.94 miles in one hour.

 

	HPVs: Much faster than bicycles ©Chris Field

Among the leading contenders is former Hour Record holder Canadian Sam Whittingham. He is joined by American Matt Weaver, who designs, builds and rides his own HPVs.

It is estimated streamlined HPVs are more than 30kph/18.6mph faster than traditional bicycles at top speed.

The HPV's shape is more similar to the slick fuselage of a jet aircraft than anything resembling a conventional bike.

In motion, not even the wheels are visible. Everything, including the rider, is shielded by the streamlined shell.

Comparing Teutenberg's HPV Hour Record to the current Cycling Hour Record, held by Britain's Chris Boardman, reveals far superior speeds can be achieved by a HPV.

Teutenberg's distance of 81.16km/50.42 miles is considerably further than Boardman's record of 56.375km/35.031miles on a high-tech bicycle and 49.441km/30.723 miles on a traditional metal-frame cycle.

Only nine people, other than Teutenberg, have held the HPV Hour Record, which dates back to 1932 when Frenchman Marcel Berthet rode 49.99km/31.06 miles in an hour.

 

	Berthet: First HPV Hour Record holder ©www.velorizontal.com

Twenty-five years earlier, Berthet had ridden 41.52km/25.8 miles on a conventional bicycle and set the then Hour Record.

In case you fancy your own chances of claiming the Dempsey-MacCready Prize, the rules state it must be challenged by a single rider HPV on a circuit-course closed to automobile traffic.

The HPV can be no larger than 1.5m/4.9ft high, 1m/3.2ft wide and 3.1m/10.1ft long. The size limitations are to minimize the effect of wind on propulsion.

Any number of wheels is legal and there are no elevation, wind or grade restrictions. The prize is open to entries from any country and the attempt may take place anywhere.