Irish paracyclist Colin Lynch had his world hour record bid cruelly ended by an unfortunate crash last weekend. The two-time world champion says he would have definitely broken the record and has vowed to return to try again.
By Brian Canty
Colin Lynch has recalled the moment his bid to break the hour record came crashing down on the track in Manchester last weekend.
The two-time world champion said he would definitely have broken the record only for his unfortunate blow-out that resulted in him hitting the deck pretty hard and being unable to continue.
“The hour record has dominated my life in one form or another for the last year,” he said.
“Planning, training, dealing with the UCI and just trying to hit form at the right time were all obstacles I’d to overcome but I jumped through all those and was raring to go.
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“Warming up before the attempt I knew I had it in me to break the record and everything seemed perfect.”
Lynch was aiming to beat the record of 41.31km set by Laurent Thirionet of France in 1999.
“The plan was to go out a bit hard and try and build up a cushion, then settle into a conservative pace and hold onto the advantage until the last 10 minutes.
“At the 10-minute to go mark, the plan was to lift the pace a bit and try for some extra distance if I felt good.”
Lynch recalled how he felt incredible throughout his effort and could “barely feel the bike” until his world came tumbling down with around 20 minutes to go.
“I was just past the 20-minute-to-go mark (18 minutes) when I heard the front wheel explode.
“It was right before the bend so I had no chance to slow the bike.
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“Before I knew it I was flipped over and sliding across the track.
“Luckily, I didn’t try and break my fall so I’ve no broken bones – just a bit of skin loss on my elbow and hip.”
Lynch, to his credit, tried to keep going but his body told him otherwise.
“After a wheel change I tried to get back up and just finish the attempt, even if the record was gone but my raw elbow meant I couldn’t hold my weight in the aero position.
“The organisers felt so bad for me they offered to let me try again later that night but there was no way I could manage it – not with the elbow.
“Looking back I’m massively disappointed as it was an absolute certainty I would have broken the record.
“I would be more upset if I had ridden the whole thing and physically not been able to do it.
“At least I know I can come back and have the physical capability to go again.”
Lynch said he has already returned to training with the intention of trying again in January.
“I’ve already been in touch with a few people to try and arrange a time and place.
“It needs to fit in with my other training and racing, plus I’ll need to get UCI permission again, which could more difficult than actually riding the hour!”
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