How Recumbents Were Banned From Racing
In 1933 the prestigious cycling record for distance in one hour stood at 44.247 kilometres. The Swiss rider Oscar Egg held the hour record at that time, making his name a household word in France.
Along came Charles Mochet, a self-taught engineer. Mochet had already invented a four-wheel pedal car that was gaining popularity. It occurred to him that it would be lighter and faster with only two wheels. There is no evidence that he knew of any previous recumbent bikes, but he may have. It seems he developed his two-wheel design from the four-wheel pedal cars he manufactured. Named “Velocar” after his popular four-wheel vehicle, his recumbent bike was ready to race in 1933. Mochet managed to interest Francis Faure, a 43-year-old French “second-rate” rider, in racing the bike. Faure hoped to set a new hour record on it.
On the day of Faure’s hour attempt, the other racers jeered at him and his bike. “Stand up and pedal like a man,” they joked, “lying down will make you sleepy.” Their laughter died as he outpaced two professional riders and went on to beat the world hour record, going 45.055 kilometres in one hour.
In 1934 the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) ruled that the Velocar was not a bicycle and could not be raced in UCI events or for UCI records.
Faure’s record was relegated to a footnote in cycling history with the stroke of their bureaucratic pen. The recumbent bicycle was faster, and they didn’t want to have to compete with it. They have not relented to this day.
Without the UCI’s endorsement to race or have the record, Mochet’s recumbent never had a chance to become a mainstream item. That is why recumbent bicycles have not been mass-produced until now. Who knows, if the UCI hadn’t banned recumbents from racing, you could have been riding a recumbent years ago.
Most people, except on really big hills, are faster on a recumbent. After Tim Brummer, designer of Lightning Cycles, won a US national championship on a lowracer, the United States Cycling Federation outlawed them in 2005. When a reporter asked Lance Armstrong about recumbents he said he would try one if they were legal.
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