Cometh the hour cometh the centurion
Paris (AFP) - French cycling phenomenon Robert Marchand, 102, will attempt to break his own hour record at the new national velodrome on January 31, it was announced on Tuesday.
The former fireman set the previous mark in the over-100 years category - created especially for him - in February 2012 in Aigle, Switzerland, covering 24.25km in the hour.
He also holds the centurion's record for the 100 kilometres - set in Lyon on September 28, 2012 - timing 4hr 17min 27sec, which translates into 23 kilometres per hour.
Marchand has had a colourful life working as a lumberjack in Canada as well as living in Venezuela for a number of years and only retiring from his job as a market gardener in the Paris area aged 89.
His attempt will take place at the new velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, just outside Paris, the day after its official inauguration.
