He might not be Bradley Wiggins, but the achievement Robert Marchand is just as impressive, setting a new Hour Record of 22.547km just months after his 105th birthday.

Marchand’s ride is the first ever in the new Hour Record category for Masters aged 105 or over, with the record set on the boards of the French national velodrome in Saint Quentin en Yvelines near Paris.

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However for Marchand, the attempt was not really about setting a record, but more about showing what people of his age are capable of.

“I’m not here to break any record,” he said. “I’m doing it to prove that at 105 years old you can still ride a bike.”

Marchand is already the hold of the Hour Record for the 100+ category, setting a mark of 26.925km at the same velodrome in 2014, and also holds the record for the fastest 100km by a 100+ rider, with a time of 4.17.27.

The Frenchman, who was born in 1911, was a keen rider in his youth, but only took up riding again in his 90s, in the meantime having worked as a lorry driver in Venezuela and a lumberjack in Canada, and finding himself in prison during World War Two for failing to instruct the children of Nazi collaborators during his time as a gym instructor.

>>> The Hour Record: An interactive timeline

Marchand still rides every weekend with his local club, and also makes daily trips to the gym to stretch and ride a stationary bike.

During races, he aims to keep his heart rate at a constant 110bpm, and fuels himself using water sweetened with honey.