Daily Times

An architect is hoping to make history by setting a new cycling speed record – on a £15,000 bike which will be attached to a Porsche Cayenne.

Neil Campbell will attempt to travel in excess of 168mph (270.4kph) on the custom-built bike once it is released from the back of the car, before using a parachute in order to come to a halt within just 400m (1,312ft).

If successful, the cycling enthusiast, from Essex, would set a new Guinness World Record for fastest bicycle speed in a slipstream (male), eclipsing the 167mph (268.8kph) total set by Dutch rider Fred Rompelberg in 1995.

The attempt, which is set to take place at the Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire in August, will see his bike released from the back of the Porsche once it is travelling fast enough, at which point Mr Campbell will pedal furiously as he is timed over a 200m (656.2ft) speed trap.

A similar method was used last year when the speedster rode at 135.3mph (217.7kph) at the same venue.

On Monday and Tuesday, Mr Campbell was at the airfield in order to test out the equipment he will use in August, including the custom-built Moss Bikes cycle, which is estimated to have cost £15,000 and was made using 3D-printed parts and components from a motocross motorbike.

He said: “I can’t stress enough that this is very much a team event, who all have to perform for it to happen.

“The driver in particular is under tremendous pressure.”

Mr Campbell added that he has always been “fixated by speed”, which he described as the “ultimate challenge of mind over body”.

He said he has been dreaming of breaking the record for more than 20 years, and will predominately self-fund next month’s attempt.

Organisers said he also hopes to travel to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, next year to try to travel even faster on a longer runway.