40 years ago: the story of a cyclist launched behind an 800 horsepower Porsche

Les cyclistes du Tour de France qui dépassent les limitations de vitesse en ville ? Les athlètes qui atteignent les 100 km/h lors des descentes périlleuses des Alpes et des Pyrénées ? Franchement, c’est petit jeu, il est possible de faire mieux ! Comment ? En s’alliant avec Porsche et Henri Pescarolo pour réaliser un record de vitesse spécial.

Jean-Claude Rude is a cyclist specializing in one-day classics and track events. In other words, he likes to drive fast. In 1976, aged 22, he wanted to feel other sensations. The world speed record for a kilometer launched behind a racing car (that's the full name) attracted him. It was then held by the American physicist Allan Abbott, nicknamed “The Flying Doctor”, who had managed to reach the 223 km/h huddled in the bumper of a 1955 Chevrolet on the Great Salt Lake in Bonneville, Utah.

The French cyclist (but born in the German Federal Republic, FRG) expressed his somewhat crazy desire to his sports director at the Union Sportive Dijonnaise, Jean de Gribaldy. The latter is interested in the performance of Henri Pescarolo, then triple winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans (Sarthe). What if the driver, then under contract with Porsche, agreed to drive the car serving as his foal's aspiration? At first, “Pesca” is skeptical. But the latter ends up being convinced by the man's enthusiasm.

Now that the driver is here, he probably needs a car. For this, Henri Pescarolo uses his links with Porsche to modify an overpowering 935 Turbo in the legendary Martini Racing colors. With 800 horsepower under the hood, the cyclist will have to pedal quickly to stay in the wake!

In order to avoid air disturbance on the runner, Porsche develops a protective shell at the rear of the car, with a trapezoidal shape so that the air passes above Jean-Claude Rude. Ideally protected, it will not have to make the slightest effort against the resistance of the wind.

Less visible, but even more practical, a rolling bar is placed in front of the bumper to allow the little queen's specialist to stick your front wheel to the car without being unbalanced. Well, all this obviously assumes that the Porsche does not brake suddenly, does not encounter an incident, and that Jean-Claude Rude is extremely meticulous despite the colossal effort required.

Le bike finally has a shape worthy of a circus act, with a rear wheel larger than its little sister at the front. The pedal board is enormous (the term is not overused) and a single revolution of this crankset (called development) allows you to travel 27 meters ! On the other hand, it is impossible to start with just the strength of your legs. Also, a motorbike pushes the bike for the first tens of meters…

The tests take place on the Volkswagen test track in Ehra-Lessien (Germany), a stone's throw from Wolfsburg. The only problem is that at the end of this straight line of several kilometers there are two sharp bends. We will therefore have to judge the starting and braking as closely as possible.

“His life was in my hands”
On August 23, 1978 at 10:30 a.m., the two men set off. Henri Pescarolo feels a great responsibility. “His life was in my hands”, he remembers. The Frenchman must accelerate as linearly as possible so as not to overtake Jean-Claude Rude. Not at all simple because don't forget the "butt kicking" effect of the turbos of the time!

“It was a very, very brutal car, continues Henri Pescarolo. That is to say, it was all or nothing: when the turbo was not on, the car did not go very fast. All of a sudden, the turbo activated and the car accelerated very suddenly. This was exactly what you shouldn't do with a runner behind! »

The tandem advances more and more quickly when, en reaching 175 km/h, Jean-Claude Rude's rear hose explodes! “He manages to control his bike like a skier, remembers Henri Pescarolo. Equipped with sensors placed by university doctors from Dijon (Côte-d'Or), the cyclist was able to see that his heart was beating at 160 beats/minute during the incident and at 210 when he fell at low speed!

“We were happy because he had nothing. » Jean-Claude Rude did not have time to prepare a second attempt, because he was hit by a train on March 26, 1980 while he was training along the railway line in Velars-sur-Ouche ( Golden Coast).

Jean-Claude Rude's bicycle is exhibited at the Tournus bicycle museum (Saône-et-Loire), open from April to October. As for the Porsche 935, German engineers removed its fairing to continue its competitive career.