American woman breaks cycling land speed record at 295 km/h
Denise Mueller-Korenek smashed previous record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah
photography by Matt Ben Stone
American Denise Mueller-Korenek broke the motor-paced bicycle land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Sunday. The former U.S. track, road and mountain bike champion rode a custom KHS carbon frameset with double-reduction gearing at the mind-boggling speed of 294.51 km/h behind a 1,000-horsepower dragster racer for one mile.
Mueller-Korenek smashed the previous record held by Dutchman Fred Rompleberg of 268.76 km/h and her previous women’s record of 237.7 km/h. Her aim was the surpass 270.37 km/h but in hr attempt she far exceeded that establishing the new benchmark at 294.51 km/h.
The dragster which was used in the previous record towed Mueller-Korenek to 80 km/h hour before a release for her to start pedalling the enormous gear under her own power. This style of record was first attempted in the late 19th century when Charles “Mile-a-Minute” Murphy drafted a train to set the record at nearly 100 km/h.
The bike Mueller-Korenek rode had 17-inch motorbike wheels installed to ensure stability at very high speeds. The bike was elongated for stability and is installed with a suspension fork to dampen high-speed vibrations. The driver of the dragster was professional race driver Shea Holbrook.
During her cycling career, Mueller-Korenek won 13 national championship titles and two world championship podiums.
