Fast Company: Sam Whittingham [center] and Co

You really could not have scripted the events of this past week at the World Human Powered Speed Challenge in Battle Mountain, USA.

A truly astonishing week of speed, which had produced more than a dozen world records on this thin slice of straight desert highway, came down to a titanic last-day clash.

For the majority of the week, Canadian Sam Whittingham had been in cruise control, virtually unchallenged by the other teams and raising the mark of the fastest man on earth under his own power three times from his previous record of 72.75mph to 77.59mph (117.05kph to 124.84kph).

Then, finally, American maverick rider Matt Weaver turned up on Friday and immediately gave Whittingham the shock of his life.

With his very first run, Weaver recorded his best-ever speed of 77.40mph (124.54kph), an amazing improvement of more than 8mph (12.9kph) on his previous best and just a fraction away from Whittingham’s record. In the process, he also snatched Whittingham’s world record average speeds for the mile and kilometer distances.

Going in to the final day of racing, the stage was thus set for a colossal showdown between Whittingham and Weaver for the title of the fastest man on Earth.

The result vindicated a true champion.

Riding first, Whittingham became the first person in history to break the 80mph barrier. Completing the 200m course in just 5.55 seconds, he averaged a phenomenal 80.55mph (129.63kph) in his human powered vehicle (HPV) named Varna Diablo.

Only two years ago, 70mph had been considered a potentially unbreakable barrier – now thoughts are turning to 90, and indeed, 100mph.

 

	Wild: Blueyonder

Whittingham’s run also set new world records for the average speeds over the kilometer and mile distances, with speeds of 79.79mph (125.16kph) and 78.64mph (126.53kph) respectively.

Weaver’s tenure of these two records had lasted a mere 24 hours.

Running second in his HPV Kyle Edge, Weaver himself produced his fastest ever speed, 78.02mph (125.53kph), covering the 200-meter course in 5.73 seconds.

In any other circumstances, this would have been an exceptional winning performance but on this day it was more than 2.5mph (4.02kph) short of Whittingham’s mark.

British Olympic cycling gold medallist Jason Queally rode Blueyonder Challenger to a speed of 64.34mph (103.52kph), thereby setting a new British and European record and becoming the fifth fastest HPV of all time.

But there was no disguising the team’s disappointment at their failure to capture – or even get near – Whittingham’s world record title.

However, there were still more world records to come.

 

Tanya: New WR

Tanya Markham, daughter of 'Fast' Freddy Markham who set three world records on the previous day in the tandem, herself also set two new world records.

Her average speeds of 51.27mph (82.49kph) for the one kilometer distance and 50.58mph (81.38kph) for the mile were the fastest ever over those distances in the women’s single rider category.


All pictures courtesy of John Cassidy Photography

- Ash Potterton