Female Cyclist Becomes World's Fastest Person to Ride a Bicycle

An American female cyclist shattered a world record when she became the fastest person to ride a bicycle by reaching speeds over 183 miles per hour.

Denise Mueller-Korenek set the new world record at the World of Speed event held at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Mueller-Korenek, who teamed up with professional race car driver Shea Holbrook-Chorley, said her goal for the event was to reach 175mph on her custom bicycle.

When she reached the finish line, the 45-year-old mother was told that she rode an average speed of 183.932 miles per hour. 

The previous record holder was Dutch cyclist Fred Rompelberg who had gone 167mph behind a car in 1995.

'That was rough,' Mueller-Korenek said in a Facebook video after her record win.

In addition to getting bounced around at high speeds as the dragster she was attached to sped down the track, Mueller-Korenek said the salt dust on the ground had entirely coated her throat by the time she reached the finish line.

To achieve the high speed, Mueller-Korenek was pulled on a dragster with an extended back to protect her from the wind. As the dragster pulled Mueller-Korenek's bike, the cyclist pedaled and steadied herself as the dragster picked up speed.

Once the dragster, driven by Holbrock-Chorley, reached about 100mph Mueller-Korenek's bike was detached and she was left to pedal on her own.

In a Facebook post, Mueller-Korenek explained that the dragster released her bicycle around 1.5 miles leaving her 'in the draft to achieve an average speed for the last mile of 183.9mph'.

Holbrock-Chorley said she drove out of her comfort zone but was glad Mueller-Korenek was able to keep up.

'You look so strong in this run. It was meant to be girl! For the first time pacing Denise I drove outside of my comfort zone. A constant evaluation of risk/reward. I'm just happy you kept up Denise! Haha!' she captioned a video of their run. 

After reaching such a high speed Mueller-Korenek then has to work in tandem with Holbrock-Chorley to help her slow down to 110mph so she can safely stop.

'The ride of her life and the drive of mine,' Holbrook-Chorley captioned a Facebook photo of her and her teammate at the finish line.   

Mueller-Korenek's speed set a new Guinness World Record for both men and women for the fastest bicycle speed in a slipstream. Rompelberg previously held the title since October 1995 when he reached an average speed of 169.944mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats.