New South Downs double record set

Neil at the finish (Rory Hitchens)

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The South Downs is a hefty chunk of chalk on Britain’s south coast, criss-crossed by more bridleways than you can shake a minipump at. We recently reported on Rob Lee’s record breaking feat where he completed the 202 mile ride in 20:55:51 on a standard mountain bike.

Now Neil Newell has just completed the South Downs Double (SDD) on a rigid singlespeed 29er in a record time (for a singlespeed) of 23:20:32.

Neil was the third rider ever to complete the SDD inside 24 hours last year on a geared, supported ride so decided this year to go one better and complete the ride on a rigid singlespeed 29er.

He set out from Winchester at 9.30am on Tuesday, and by the 100 mile mark he knew that a sub-24 hour time was on the cards. Keeping up his pace brilliantly, Neil had perfect riding conditions through the night and rode an incident-free trail all the way back to Winchester to finish in a time of 23:20:32.

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