Victorian cyclist Anna Davis breaks Masters Hour Record

Victorian track cyclist Anna Davis (Coburg Cycling Club) has beaten her own record for the WMAS6 best hour performance – the hour record for Masters – by riding 45.213 kilometres at DISC Velodrome, Melbourne on Friday.

Davis surpassed her previous benchmark for women aged 55–59 by an impressive 1,250 metres.

The result was also better than the 44.427 kilometres she rode four years ago in the 50–54 age group, which still stands as the world’s best performance for that category.

The hour record measures the longest distance cycled in 60 minutes from a standing start, subject to regulations set by the governing body for cycling, the UCI.

For most of her ride, Davis held a metronomic pace of 19.8 seconds per lap of the 250-metre track.

Davis, who turns 57 this week, said she learned to stay within her limits after starting too hard in a previous record attempt.

“Last time I went out with too much confidence,” Davis said. “I thought I’d keep it steady today for the first 20 minutes. I actually felt very comfortable for, probably, 50 minutes.”

Davis said the atmospheric conditions were “perfect” for the successful effort.

“The track was incredibly fast today,” she said. “I was probably putting out less power today than I did last Friday, when I rode a test.”

It was a record-breaking weekend for cyclists across the country.

In Adelaide, Australian Cycling Team athlete Maeve Plouffe (Port Adelaide Cycling Club) lopped off 6 seconds from her Australian record in the 3,000-metre individual pursuit with a time of 3:19.994.

In Perth, Brodie Cullen (X-Speed Australia Cycle Club) set an Australian record of 3:20.185 for men aged 40–44 in the 3,000-metre individual pursuit. The performance was better than the world’s best time (set in 2019 by Newcastle’s Ben Neppl), but AusCycling understands it will not undergo the UCI’s process to ratify it as the official benchmark.

Photo: John Gondek