Van Eijden: 'I'm not worried about him' ©Stefan Goroncy

Whittingham is even less convinced about the challenge of current cycling world sprint champion Jan van Eijden.

Although the HPV record is measured across 200m/656ft, the distance required for the buildup to the required speeds is much greater.

"This is where most people get it wrong and why I'm not worried about van Eijden at all," said Whittingham.

"This sprint event is not a sprint in the way people think of it. A sprinter on a cycling track might have a maximum of 15 seconds of effort.

"If you see these guys try and do anything longer than one minute, they're exhausted because they have fast-twitch muscles that are trained specifically for going very, very hard for a very short period of time.

 

'WhiteHawk': Van Eijden's HPV ©Stefan Goroncy

"But on this event we're using a road that is 8km (5 miles) long and, because the speed is so high that you're trying to attain, it takes an awfully long time to build up to that. In order to get to the very high speeds, you have to be able to dole out a really hard effort over about two minutes.

"But it's hard to say; it's a very weird event. The problem with it is you can't necessarily judge how someone's going to do by their cycling performance – they're two completely different things."

Not only may van Eijden struggle over longer distances, he has also recently been ill with appendicitis and his chances of making the Nevada showdown have been seriously reduced.

Also in the equation is maverick HPV rider Matt Weaver, who designs, constructs and rides his own vehicles.

Whittingham describes him as a "genius" but gives him rather less praise when weighing up his chances of breaking the record.

 

	Weaver: 'Never gets it together' ©Paul Gracey

"We're very good friends," said Whittingham. "He's very smart and a theoretical genius but in practical terms, he's a bit of a dud.

"He's always got these incredible ideas and machines and lots of hype surrounding him when he comes to an event. But he always shows up to an event a day late, if he shows up at all. And he hasn't usually been training as he's been pulling all-nighters trying to finish his bike.

"If he ever really got his bikes finished, then they might go as fast as he says. That's the thing with Matt - he's got all these great ideas but we never really know because he never actually gets it all together enough to show us."