6 hour record:By Laurence BasellAge 36Height 197cmWeight 85kg (morning of the ride)

The event…

The attempt details.Mitch had selected the oval track at the Australian Automotive Research Centre located at 445 Gum Flats Rd, Wensleydale VIC 3241. This was a dedicated track that was 3.25km in length. We rode the course anti-clockwise. The ride was scheduled to start at 10:00am on 30th March 2018 (Good Friday). While we had detailed weather forecasts, the wind was much stronger than expected (30kmh with large gusts). We held back the start due to the winds, but decided to proceed and the record attempt started at 10:21am. There is a start / finish line at the course where the timing infrastructure was set up and there was an official’s desk set up over looking this line. While the wind was forecast to drop, it actually picked up and the wind was at its strongest at the last two hours of the attempt. Temperature was mild in the morning but after lunch it warmed up as the sun came out. During the attempt the average temperature was 21.1 °C with a minimum of 15.0 °C and a maximum of 28.0 °C. The ride finished at 4:22pm – when I completed the lap after the 6 hours had passed.

The plan was always to finish my ride just before Mitch started the 24 hour world record attempt and so my start time (being the curtain raiser) was always going to be dictated by when Mitch would start.

Figure 1 Summary Ride Details

Figure 2 Mitch Anderson helping at the start of the 6 hour

Figure 3 Setting up shoes and shoe covers (first time I had used shoe covers)

My bike.I am lucky enough to be supported by Giant Bikes. I had two bikes set up for the day. Both were Giant Trinitys (their time trial model). I had SRAM etap with Quarq power meter on my main bike and Shimano Dura Ace on my spare bike (Garmin power meter). I was running Zipp Super 9 Discs at the rear and Zipp Firecrest 808s on the front.

Figure 4 My bike setup. This was my spare bike on the day - Giant Trinity, Zipp Super 9 rear, Zipp 808 Firecrest front

Figure 5 My main bike on the day – Giant Trinity, Zipp Super 9 rear, Zipp 808 Firecrest front

My Food.The area of cycling where I am not great is eating and drinking on the bike. My nutrition didn’t quite work out as planned. On our long training rides (6-8 hours), I don’t typically eat a lot (1-2 bars, 4 bottles of Gatorade), but I also feel the impact of this towards the end. I was trying to eat one bar an hour during the event. My stomach couldn’t process this and I ended up throwing up quite severally in the last hour. I have never been sick during exercise and so not 100% the reason why – but I did feel like on the day that I was consuming too much food. My summary food is as follows:

2 Nutri Bars (a protein / energy bar) 2 caffeine gels 4 bottles of caffeinated infinite drink (1 L bottles) 1 bottle of water (1 L bottle)

I weighed 3kg lighter at the end of the ride compared to when I started.

Figure 6 Graham Hunter at the start / finish line Figure 7 Setting up drinks and nutrition at the start

The riding conditionsThe wind was very difficult on the day. We tried to plan the start time and day (we had a three day window) on the best weather. Wind was meant to be low but it ended up being 30kmh with gusts much higher. This meant power into the wind was high (~400w) and power with the wind was low (~260-270w) and there was still a speed differential of ~12kmh. My logic on the day was to ride harder into the wind and lighter with it (I was riding at ~48-50kmh with the wind) as that would be the most efficient and highest average speed. Riding 6 hours with strong winds does dehydrate you, and the noise over the ears is also difficult to manage.

If I had to do the record again, I would reassess my nutrition and make it more like my Saturday long ride (consume less early, more late). I would also love to ride the circuit on low wind (I think it is a very quick track with the right conditions). Riding in the conditions was basically 6 hours of intervals – and not an ideal pacing strategy. I have done a lot of constant efforts before and definitely easier than what happened on the 6 hour event.

Overall:The day really was great. It was so good to have such great support from friends and family throughout the lead-up to the event and then on the actual day. The best part and the hardest part was the last hour of riding. Knowing you must dig deep but knowing that you will get to the finish is a pretty amazing feeling. The day really went through without many hiccups. While there was a power meter drop-out early, and I didn’t nail my nutrition, it was quite smooth (compared to what could go wrong). It was then great to watch, and support Mitch complete his goal of achieving the 24 hour world record. I don’t think I could do this, but it was amazing to watch someone complete it. The mental game of riding non-stop for 24-hours is just an amazing ability.

Figure 8 Final adjustments at the start of the event (with David Ross and Mitch Anderson)

My riding stats (from Garmin)

Average Speed: 42.0kmhAverage heart rate: 167bpmAverage Cadence: 92rpmAverage Power: 338/9w (Garmin provided two averages)

Notes:My power meter dropped in and out early in the ride (see chart). I quickly realised that my Garmin was confused as I had my spare bike on the trailing car and so it was picking up that bike’s power meter too. I disabled the power meter on the spare bike and then there were no further issues. My power did drop in the last hour as I started to get sick. The first five hours I was very consistent with power, HR and speed (really only changing with the wind). My power, speed and HR are all very up and down. This was due to the power differential of riding with and against the wind.

Figure 9 Summary Garmin chart

Figure 8 outlines charts of the key metrics, Speed, Heart Rate, Cadence and Watts. The blip at the start where my power meter stopped pairing and I had to disable to power meter on my spare bike. The charts outline the wind differential on the track and why the speed, heart rate and wattage is up and down (I increased my wattage into the wind and dropped it with the wind – as I felt this was the efficient strategy).

Figure 10 The race setup

Figure 11 The race setup

A little bit on me and the training leading up to the event…

My Background:I purchased my first road bike in February 2012. In Melbourne, Australia, we have one of the world’s largest triathlons with ~5,000 people participating in the Corporate triathlon each year. I was roped into joining a team through work (I work as a management consultant and at the time I was working at PwC). I love the event and atmosphere and bought the bike especially for the event. Off the back of this I decided to sign up to the Bussleton Ironman (nine months later). I had a background in sport (played a lot of Australian Rules football and did a number of running events in the off-season including several marathons). I completed the Bussleton Ironman in ~10h 30 minutes which at the time I thought was quite respectable. Prior to flying to the event I met a new colleague (Damien Angus) who is a bit of triathlon legend (in Melbourne and around the world – he is probably the best age group triathlete in the world) who told me to look out for Mitch Anderson who was still racing pro.

Damien suggested I join his Saturday morning riding group. Prior to this I had never ridden in a group as I always thought I would be too slow. The first few rides I was only allowed to ride at the back to ensure I understood the way the group rode, safety aspects, pace and rotations. I was amazed at the speed, and I realised why I had never ridden in groups before. Damien insisted I keep riding with the group as it was the best way to get better. I didn’t really comprehend until much later – that the group wasn’t a standard bunch of MAMILs, but there were some very talented individuals - not only amazing athletes but the majority are very successful off the bike and great people. Damien is a prior age-group winner of Hawaii ironman, Mitch is an ex-pro triathlete and one of the strongest riders in the world (6, 12 and 24 hour world record holder), and the majority of the group have raced ironman at sub 9 hour pace.

After training with the group for 18-months I went from my ironman debut to taking over an hour off my time (Ironman PB was 9h21m) and riding several races with quicker bike splits than the majority of the pro athletes (bike PB was 4h21m). I also competed in bike races which complemented triathlon training.

Last March, Mitch set the 6 hour and 12 hour world records. I did several training sessions with him leading up to this attempt and was amazed at his dedication and execution of this event. I was also very intrigued at how I would go attempting long distance, timed time trials.

When Mitch was planning his 24-hour attempt he was looking at ways to market his attempt and how to get other people involved. He was also looking at ways to get training partners involved. Mitch dangled the carrot of attempting a 6-hour record as a way to get into distance cycling as well as a curtain raiser to the event and locking in a training partner.

Testing and training leading up to the event:Mitch coached me leading up to the event and I averaged between 20 and 25 hours each week on the bike. Each Saturday morning I would leave the house at 4am and meet the group at 4:45am. Our rides varied from 250km to 350km (7 and 10 hours). I did a total of 10 rides over 6 hours. Mitch believed over-distance rides would be beneficial and it also gave him a bit more company on his longer rides. I also completed two events in this block – both of which were 8 hours in nature. The training program Mitch outlined consisted of two main long rides (one ~120km and one 250-350km) coupled with a number of recovery rides and two interval sets (6-10x 5minutes at ~430-450w and 6-8x 5 minutes SE at ~400w). My FTP test a week prior to the event was 458w.

We were both lucky enough to do quite comprehensive testing prior to the event at the research institute Baker IDI. This involved detailed blood, heart, lungs and body scans (bone and fat density) as well as physiological testing. This included FTP, VO2 max, maximum lung capacity and 2 hour steady state (heart and lung testing).

My VO2 max was 69 mL/(kg·min) at 595w. I have previously tested at 74 mL/(kg·min) but believe my fitness was higher but due to the amount of training my legs were still heavy at the time of testing. My maximum heart rate at testing was 189bpm (I can normally get it to 200bpm) and my resting pulse was 50bpm. My FTP was 458w. My 2-hour steady state testing (to gauge metabolism and impact on heart and lungs) was done at 335w (a guestimate of the power I would use on the day). On the test day I weighed 85kg. The 335w power goal was based on testing but also what I was used to riding at on our longer Saturday rides (a little bit of science and a little bit of feel). The training block Mitch had me on was 12 weeks long. I had a pretty good base leading into this block.

I didn’t have a special diet – but I did try to drop weight over the 12 weeks. I raced at 85kg. My normal weight is 90-93kg. This was just a consequence of trying to eat less and an increase in training.

Would you do it again?I would love to do it again. It does take a large time commitment and the help and support of a lot of a people (in particular my lovely wife). I would love to have a go at the 12-hour record, but I would draw the line there. Seeing Mitch ride 12-hours and then 24-hours – I honestly don’t think I could do the 24-hours. Mitch was simply amazing, and I just don’t think I could replicate that. I think I could do 12-hours and with a good training block go close to what Mitch did in 2017. My focus now is very much on my wife and the baby we are expecting on 23 April – three weeks after my 6-hour ride.

RecoveryMitch and I also completed a number of testing sessions after we completed our rides. This included a ultra-sound and ECG of the heart straight after coming off the bike. We also did and MRI and ultra sound three days after the event. This was to assess any damage to the heart during the event and to see what the recovery period would be. I pulled up amazingly well and was back on the bike very quickly. My heart also recovered very quickly. I also completed VO2 and steady state (2 hours) testing 10 days after. My VO2 Max was 72  mL/(kg·min).

Figure 12 Driving to the track with the sun coming up

Figure 13 Find a position and hold for six hours

Figure 14 Race setup. I only used one bike on the day

Figure 15 I was very good at holding my time trial position on the day with limited efforts out of the saddle

Figure 16 The crowd watching at the Start / Finish line

Figure 17 Need to learn to ride with my head down to get more aero

Figure 18 Pushing hard towards the end

Figure 19 Hitting the final lap

Figure 20 My pregnant wife congratulates me at the finish Figure 21 Exhausted at the finish (I lost 3kg on the ride)

Figure 22 Pretty happy at the finish knowing I broke Mitch's previous distance

Figure 23 A lot harder than I thought it would be

Officials:

Dan Podbury | Friday 30th March 2018

I was an official that was supervising Laurence’s ride from the trailing car. The morning started with Laurence and Mitch doing a track inspection and discussing last minute ride strategies. The wind was significantly stronger than they had planned. Laurence’s two bikes were then setup with the timing devices and calibrated –with the timing mats.

I was front passenger of the follow car for the day, sighting proceedings and managed to see every lap. There was a driver change at the 3 hour mark.

Aside from some slight rain and stronger wind than expected, Laurence’s ride went through with no disruptions. Laurence was quite self-sufficient on the bike carrying most of his food and two drink bottles. He swapped drink bottles at roughly the two hour mark where he also grabbed a gel and a protein bar. He then did the same at roughly the four hour mark. David Ross also provided words of encouragement heading towards the final hour.

The wind picked up at around the 4 hour mark. Laurence’s general consistency of pace and lap times was impressive to watch for the first five hours. He slowed in the last hour as he appeared to have nutrition issues and vomited several times. Laurence took another drink bottle with around 45 minutes to go as well as a caffeine gel.

I am satisfied Laurence completed his 6 hour attempt within the rules and the distance was achieved legitimately. It is clear that Laurence is coached by Mitch as his consistency throughout the day was very similar to watching Mitch ride. There was a good crowd to see the finish as it correlated with Mitch’s starting time. It was great to see so much support for both riders in a fairly remote location.

Daniel Podbury

10-April-2018

Bernadette Murdoch | Friday 30th March 2018

The morning started with Graham Hunter and I calibrating our stop watches and checking any discrepancies between the devices used.  We were using two Garmin devices (820 and 520) as our main lap counters as they could easily record lap times and which could be downloaded to excel to check our manual records.  We checked these devices with Stewart Jones from Event Timing.  He also ran through the timing protocols he used and we discussed our official duties.

I was positioned at the start / finish line with Graham and Stewart.  Laurence’s lap times were very consistent and he was immediately tracking quicker than the bench mark he needed to break the record.  There was some light rain and the winds were stronger than expected. 10 minutes prior to the 6-hour mark, I spoke with Stewart and Graham to discuss the protocols for the recording the distance at the finish. 

From my witnessing of the event I am satisfied Laurence completed his 6 hour attempt within the rules and the distance was achieved legitimately. His execution, pacing and consistency for the first 5 hours was excellent.  The last hour he slowed but maintained a margin above the record. Graham and I downloaded our data which is available, but due to the accuracy of the automatic timing, our device data will not be submitted but is available if required.  Graham and I were within 1 second over the 6 hour time frame.

Bernadette Murdoch

10-April-2018

Graham Hunter

I am relatively new to cycling but I watched Mitch Andrerson complete the 12-hour record in 2017. When Laurence suggested he was going to attempt the 6-hour record I volunteered to help and officiate his attempt.

I was positioned at the start line with Bernadette and Stewart.  Having a longer circuit (compared to watching Mitch in 2017) meant that timing was quite easy with around 4:50 to 5:00 a lap. Laurence was very consistent in the conditions with the odd lap being impacted by strong winds. I am satisfied Laurence completed his 6 hour attempt within the rules governed by the UMCA. We decided to use the automated timing (attached). My timing device was matched to the second with the automatic timing, but laps would have had some human error.

Graham Hunter

10-April-2018

Chris Papakostas

I was the fourth official for Laurence Basell’s record attempt. I had no formal role (Graham and Bernadette were time keepers and Dan was in the car to supervise). I was positioned at the start / finish line and ensured Bernadette and Graham had no issues on the timing. I also met with Stewart on the automatic timing.

Having been an official for Mitch’s 12-hour record – it was great to see Laurence attempt the 6-hour record. Laurence was very similar to Mitch in 2017 and set a very consistent lap schedule and pacing. He looked very relaxed on the bike for the first five hours. The major hurdle on the day was the wind conditions and some intermittent rain. The wind was quite gusty and you could see Laurence move on the track as the wind picked up.

Laurence appeared to slow in the last hour as the wind picked up and he looked to fatigue.

I witnessed Laurence cross the start / finish line for each of his laps over the 6-hours and satisfied that he complied with the rules. I look forward to see if he attempts the 12-hour record in the future.

Chris Papakostas

10-April-2018