A 70-year-old may have just smashed a pump track world record

Pump tracks are just for kids. Mountain biking into your 70s isn’t possible.

These are just two of the myths Hans van der Voorn disproved last month when he attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the longest distance traveled without pedaling on a bicycle pump track. The 70-year-old rode 60km on a New Zealand track without pedaling, though he’s still waiting to hear if the record will be officially certified. Either way, he’s proven that age is just a number when it comes to mountain biking.

“When I read the article about Jason [Connor] doing the chainless record, I’d turned 70 and had a few cycling projects that I wanted to do in that year, with the theme of not capitulating to getting older,” van der Voorn told me.

A mountain biker since 2003, van der Voorn is no stranger to chasing records. “I’ve done a couple of Everesting [challenges], and for both of those I was the oldest to have done them at the time, but those records didn’t last long.” Though van der Voorn says the four-hour pump track record attempt wasn’t as difficult as Everesting in terms of endurance, it required constant focus.

That focus, developed through years of riding and martial arts training, “counteracts the loss of physical ability that comes with aging,” van der Voorn said. “Older people don’t lose their endurance the way they lose strength, power, and speed. They ought to have more mental resilience, but not everyone will.”

Van der Voorn exudes a bit of a punk-rock vibe. In photos posted from his attempt, he’s wearing an ATTAQUER cycling cap with the words “Fock Yeah” printed on the underside of the bill. He stopped after exactly 666 laps for his record attempt. And he’s ridden the Old Ghost Road trail five times, always in a single day. Even among riders half his age, he stands out as a badass.

Pump track world record attempt

The process for setting or breaking a Guinness World Record is neither quick nor easy. It can also be expensive and requires extensive documentation. When it comes to the pump track world record, first established by Jason Connor in 2021, van der Voorn isn’t even sure what the rules are.

“I haven’t been able to find the previous record on [the Guinness] website,” he said. In fact, a search for “pump track” shows just two records, one for the world’s largest pump track park and one for the asphalt pump track with the largest elevation difference. (Both are in China.)

Studying media reports of Connor’s attempts, van der Voorn determined he needed to ride more than 50.2km on a pump track without pedaling. He removed the chain from his mountain bike and used a wheel-based sensor, rather than GPS, to measure the distance. However, unlike Connor, van der Voorn did stop “a few times” to hydrate. He also crashed into a fence at one point.

“One point about stopping is that you have to get started and up to speed again, which takes a lap or two,” he said. “So there’s no real advantage in stopping.”

Will Guinness certify the record, given that van der Voorn wasn’t constantly moving throughout his attempt? That’s to be determined, but van der Voorn doesn’t seem concerned.

“It gets a bit philosophical about whether a world record is a world record if it isn’t formally recognized by [Guinness].”

In spite of the uncertainty, he’s already planning another attempt.

Inspiring multiple generations

Van der Voorn is using his world record attempt to raise funds in support of youth mountain biking. More than 50 supporters donated funds to help purchase bikes for underprivileged youth, though the campaign failed to meet its $10,000 goal.

In an update posted to the online fundraiser, van der Voorn wrote, “We are proceeding with the donation of 10 new Trek Marlin bikes plus various accessories to Te Aratai College in Christchurch. The cost of this will be approximately $8,500. I’ll be paying the difference myself.”

He goes on to say, “The gear would normally have a retail value of $12,000. Thank you to Scotty Brown’s bike shop for facilitating the pricing.”

Not giving up

It’s clear that van der Voorn isn’t content to sit around and wait for word from Guinness. He says he’s planning another attempt and will seek to improve based on what he learned the first time around. For starters, he plans to pre-register the attempt well in advance to improve his odds of getting the official record certified.

His three-pronged approach includes mental and physical elements, plus a focus on his equipment. He also hopes to use a larger and faster track so that he can cover even more ground.

“For the next attempt, I’ll go for what I can do in four hours. Hopefully that will be 75-80km,” he said. “I’ll regulate the drink stops, stay focused mentally, and not crash.”