Denise Mueller-Korenek

Denise Mueller-Korenek (born c. 1973) is an American cyclist. As of September 2018, she holds the world record for paced bicycle land speed[1][2] and is considered "the fastest cyclist on earth".[3][4] She set the record on September 16, 2018, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, by traveling an average of 183.932 mph (296.009 km/h) on a custom-built carbon KHS bicycle behind a custom-built vehicle to minimize air resistance.[5] The previous record, 167 miles per hour (269 km/h), was set in 1995 by Dutchman Fred Rompelberg. Two years earlier she set the women's bicycle land speed record, pedaling 147.7 mph (237.7 km/h).[6] She is the first and only woman in history to hold the world record, which was first established in 1899.[7][8]

Early life and education

Denise Mueller was born into a family of daredevils. Her father, Myron Mueller, was an ultra-distance cyclist; he celebrated his 70th birthday by pedaling the entire perimeter of the coterminous United States, a distance of more than 12,000 miles (19,000 km). He is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest person to bicycle that perimeter.[9] Her mother, Anna Dement, raced midget demolition-derby cars. "In our family, crazy is our sort of normal," Denise said.[6] She graduated from San Dieguito High School.[6]

Career

Mueller competed as a junior cyclist in her teens and finished in the top three in national and world competitions more than a dozen times.[10] She won national championships in road, track and mountain biking 15 times.[3] She retired in 1992 at age 19.[7] She went to work for her family's security company, eventually becoming president and CEO.[11]

In 2009, Mueller-Korenek resumed bicycling and running, competing in marathons and Ironman Triathlon competitions. Her trainer, both in her teens and later, is John Howard, a three-time Olympian and holder of the world speed record before Rompelberg.[6] Mueller-Korenek decided to go for the speed record when Howard told her no woman had ever attempted it. She began seriously training to set a new bicycle speed record in 2012. Along the way she won two national titles for her age group.[8] In 2016, she made her first run at the record at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Her speed of 147.7 mph (237.7 km/h) established the women's world record.[8]

In paced bicycle racing, the cyclist follows immediately behind a pace car equipped with a wind shield, so that they are pedaling in the car's slipstream. Riding at that speed just inches behind a pace car is so dangerous that most world-class cyclists do not attempt it.[6] The custom bicycle is geared so high that it has to be towed by the pace car until it reaches 90 to 100 miles per hour (140 to 160 km/h); the cyclist then casts off the towrope and pedals under their own power.[8] Rompelberg, whose record she was trying to break, encouraged her efforts and allowed her to use as a pace car the same custom 1,000-horsepower (750 kW) dragster he had used in setting the record.[12] The pace car was driven by professional race car driver Shea Holbrook.[10] In her 2018 attempt, Mueller-Korenek circled the track ​3 1⁄2 times after casting off the tow rope, breaking the world record on her final mile. Her goal had been to break the previous record of 167 mph (269 km/h); she was surprised to learn she had reached 183.9 mph (296.0 km/h), breaking Rompelberg's record by almost 17 mph (27 km/h). "We weren't supposed to go more than 175," she said.[13]

References
  1. Ingraham, Chris. "Analysis | American woman pedals 184 mph, smashing record held by men for more than 100 years". Washington Post. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  2. "This Woman Just Biked at 184 MPH to Smash the Bicycle Speed Record". Bicycling. September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  3. Daley, Jason. "American Woman Sets New Bicycle Speed Record". Smithsonian. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  4. Allen, Nick (September 19, 2018). "Mother-of-three becomes fastest human being on a bike at 183.9mph". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  5. "Cycling land speed record smashed on Bonneville Salt Flats". BikeRadar. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  6. Kragen, Pam (August 4, 2018). "Woman cyclist aims for men's world speed record". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  7. Kragen, Pam (September 17, 2018). "San Diego woman officially the fastest bicyclist on Earth". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  8. Lindsey, Joe (September 13, 2018). "The Exquisite, Intricate Insanity of Riding a Bike at 184 mph". Wired. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  9. Morrow, Tom (April 12, 2006). "Myron Mueller passes at age 74". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  10. Chappell, Bill (September 18, 2018). "Woman Rides Bicycle To 183.9 MPH — A World Record". NPR. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  11. "American woman smashes cycling record held by men for more than a decade". Durango Herald. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  12. Hollingum, Ben (September 21, 2018). "A history of cycling speed records as Denise Mueller-Koronek reaches 183 mph". guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  13. "Cycling land speed: Denise Mueller-Korenek breaks world record". BBC News. September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
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