Alfredo Escobar
Breaking is for chickens
In the time it takes to say “new mountain bike speed world record,” the extreme biker Markus Stöckl can cover 120 meters. His highest speed, which he reached on September 14: 210.4 km/h.
At a mountain bike downhill world cup race he would be three times as fast as his competition. He would have won the average Tour de France stage with a good four-and-a-half hours’ advantage. And as a Red Bull Air Race pilot he would have already have lifted off with his plane. Ample absurd comparisons one endeavors to make in order to aptly describe Max Stöckl’s mountain bike record trip in La Parva, Chile.
210 km/h over 100 per cent declines
But the facts are quickly listed: On September 14 the Austrian rode his “Intense M6” faster than any person before him on a series mountainbike. On a 1.6 kilometer long ski slope with a decline of up to 45 degrees he reached the speed of 210.4 km/h (130.74 mph) – and thus broke his own eight-year-old record by 23 km/h.
Top speed despite bad preparation
“But the circumstances were anything but ideal,” said the 190 centimeter, 100 kilo giant from Tyrol self-effacingly. Preparation for the event took a modest seven days. The prepared slopes were narrower and softer than he hoped - and the visor on the aerodynamic helmet fogged up in the practice runs, so that during the 40-second record run Stöckl had to hold his breath. But the speed chase was fun anyway: “I was very calm. At the end of the course I had the impression of watching myself riding.”
Next record in sight
Instead of wet pants Stöckl came home with a head full of ambitious plans: He now wants to break the Eric Baronès’ 222km/h record for prototypes – with better preparation and top material. The new record try is supposed to take place in 2008 on the same route as the current record was broken.
