PARIS: A 105-year-old French cyclist set a new one-hour record for his age Wednesday although Robert Marchand was already in a class all of his own.
Marchand pedalled for 22.547 kilometres (14.01 miles) in the national velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines west of Paris to the cheers of hundreds of spectators and when he had finished he said he could have gone faster.
I didnt see the sign saying there were 10 minutes to go, otherwise I would have speeded up, the wiry champion told a scrum of reporters who surrounded him afterwards.
Marchand dismounted and although his coach put his arm around him, he walked off the track without difficulty.
When a reporter asked if he was going to do another lap, he said emphatically: No!
I feel emotional and Im even asking myself if all this is real! said Marchand, who was born in 1911, three years before World War I began.
Age is slowing him though three years ago he managed to ride 26.927 km in one hour, a record for someone aged over 100.
There is no known mark for someone of 105, so Marchand truly blazed a trail on Wednesday.
The former national gymnastics champion, boxer and firefighter attributes his enduring fitness to a healthy diet and lots of exercise.
Ive done sport all my life, eaten loads of fruit and vegetables, not too much coffee, he said before the record attempt.
I do between 10 and 20 kilometres a day (cycling), but I dont train outside. Im afraid I might catch flu!
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