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Brazil's speed-freak cyclist tops 200 kilometres an hour - on a bike

Evandro Portela is first cyclist to do a metric double-ton on a public road

Evandro Portela, the Brazilian cyclist whose video showing him drafting a truck at 124 kilometres an hour went viral in 2014 has set a new world record for the highest speed achieved on a bicycle on a public road, clocking up 202 kilometres an hour last Sunday.

The BR277 road between Curitiba and São José dos Pinhais was closed for 30 minutes on Sunday morning for his attempt at his own record, set earlier this year, of 184 kilometres an hour, reports Red Bull’s Brazilian website.

Portela had to struggle against a headwind to reach the speed of 50 kilometres an hour which would enable him to enter the vacuum created by the fairing on the rear of the Subaru WRX 4X4 350 HP Turbo car that was pacing him.

“It’s a great feeling, a dream come true and a great challenge,” he said afterwards.

“It wasn’t easy. I faced a headwind of 20 kilometres an hour, which made my progress very difficult.

“When I was at 190 kilometres an hour, I couldn’t see anything, the rear wheel was already in the air, but I managed to control the bike and keep pedalling.”

It took 11 kilometres for Portela to top the 200 kilometres an hour barrier – riding the distance in a shade over 6 and a half minutes.

> Video: Brazilian cyclist drafts lorry... at 124 kilometres an hour

It’s not the highest speed ever achieved on a bicycle, however. That distinction is held by Fred Rompelberg of the Netherlands who rode at an astonishing 268.831 kilometres an hour in October 1995.

His ride, listed by Guinness World Records as the ‘Fastest bicycle speed (in slipstream) male’ was undertaken at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA and he rode it in the slipstream of a dragster.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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9 comments

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quiff | 3 years ago
0 likes

Not sure I'd want all that following traffic if I came off at 200km/h

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mdavidford | 6 years ago
1 like

Not wishing to diminish the achievement, but it seems like the 'on a public road' distinction is a bit meaningless if said road has been closed to the public for the purposes of the attempt. (And if it hasn't, you really shouldn't be trying anything like this on it!)

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Stealth78 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Balls of steel.

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HLaB | 6 years ago
0 likes

126mph :-o I 've not even been that fast in a car :-o

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OldRidgeback | 6 years ago
0 likes

Nuts, but I like it.

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BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
3 likes

Epic, the first one is still the best though, bunny hopping the lane dividers at over 60mph and the way he casually does the whole thing is impressive. 

I noticed he's being 'forced' to wear a helmet (As it wouldn't get the permission to ride on the public road in a staged event) like it'd make a jot of difference at that speed, more likely to hinder in a high speed crash than be of benefit and just slowing him down in any case.

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CygnusX1 replied to BehindTheBikesheds | 6 years ago
4 likes
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

I noticed he's being 'forced' to wear a helmet

Or he thinks that it is more aero, or just looks pro  3
But never mind his helmet, have you seen the size of his (chain) ring. Ooh err, missus!

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cyclisto | 6 years ago
1 like

628 km/h??? Weird thoughts started into my head. And yes I had to click the link to enjoy a cyclist travelling at 0.5 mach

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fenix replied to cyclisto | 6 years ago
1 like
cyclisto wrote:

628 km/h??? Weird thoughts started into my head. And yes I had to click the link to enjoy a cyclist travelling at 0.5 mach

268kmh is the record ?

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