The 81-year-old Herman Derdin from Begijnendijk in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant did not manage to break the world endurance record by bicycle on Sunday, but he did beat the national record, also held by him.
Derdin set a new Belgian hour record last year, but he wanted to put the world endurance record in the 80-plus category to his name. This record sees cyclists aim to cover as great a distance as possible within one hour. The current record has been held by Italian-Canadian Giuseppe Marinoni for years.
The inspirational Belgian athlete on Sunday attempted to break Marinoni's world endurance record of 39.004 kilometres at the Sport Flanders Heusden-Zolder Velodrome in Limburg. However, his fan group on Facebook shared the news that his attempt had failed.
"Many thanks to all our fans, supporters and sympathisers for their enthusiasm and encouragement today. No world record but we did improve our own Belgian record to 38.313 km/h, a fantastic achievement," the statement noted. His previous Belgian record was 37.793 kilometres.
Related News
- Belgium adventurer Louis-Philippe Loncke sets record in Tasmania
- Are you on Strava? More runners ditch technology for 'naked' experience
Derdin told VRT NWS that, ten minutes into his attempt, he felt it wouldn't work. "During training sessions, I managed to break it, but after ten minutes I realised I wasn't going to succeed today," he said. "My mouth was too dry and I couldn't swallow."
His wife Joset Heermans and son Paul Derdin both stood by to watch his attempt and while disappointed for Derdin, they were very proud of him. "It's a very tough performance. He tried, he didn't succeed, but he did sharpen his Belgian record," his son said.
