Denise Mueller-Korenek (born) is an American cyclist. she holds the world record for paced bicycle land speed[1] [2] and is considered "the fastest cyclist on earth".[3] [4] She set the record on September 16, 2018, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, by traveling an average of 183.932 mph (296.009 km/h) on a custom-built carbon KHS bicycle behind a custom-built vehicle to minimize air resistance.[5] The previous record,, was set in 1995 by Dutchman Fred Rompelberg. Two years earlier she set the women's bicycle land speed record, pedaling 147.7 mph (237.7 km/h).[6] She is the first and only woman in history to hold the world record, which was first established in 1899.[7]
Denise Mueller was born into a family of daredevils. Her father, Myron Mueller, was an ultra-distance cyclist; he celebrated his 70th birthday by pedaling the entire perimeter of the coterminous United States, a distance of more than 12000miles. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest person to bicycle that perimeter.[8] Her mother, Anna Dement, raced midget demolition-derby cars. "In our family, crazy is our sort of normal," Denise said.[6] She graduated from San Dieguito High School.[6]
In 1991, she appeared in a segment with her mentor John Howard in an instructional videotape produced by New & Unique Videos entitled "John Howard's Lessons in Cycling" which won an International Film & TV Festival of New York Silver Medal and a National Telly Award.[9]
Mueller competed as a junior cyclist in her teens and finished in the top three in national and world competitions more than a dozen times.[10] She won national championships in road, track and mountain biking 15 times.[3] She retired in 1992 at age 19. She went to work for her family's security company, eventually becoming president and CEO.[11]
In 2009, Mueller resumed bicycling and running, competing in marathons and Ironman Triathlon competitions. Her trainer, both in her teens and later, is John Howard, a three-time Olympian and holder of the world speed record before Rompelberg.[6] Mueller-Korenek decided to go for the speed record when Howard told her no woman had ever attempted it. She began seriously training to set a new bicycle speed record in 2012. Along the way she won two national titles for her age group.[12] In 2016, she made her first run at the record at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Her speed of 147.7mph established the women's world record.[12]
In paced bicycle racing, the cyclist follows immediately behind a pace car equipped with a wind shield, so that they are pedaling in the car's slipstream. Riding at that speed just inches behind a pace car is so dangerous that most world-class cyclists do not attempt it.[6] The custom bicycle is geared so high that it has to be towed by the pace car until it reaches 90to; the cyclist then casts off the towrope and pedals under their own power.[12] Rompelberg, whose record she was trying to break, encouraged her efforts and allowed her to use as a pace car the same custom 1000hp dragster he had used in setting the record.[13] The pace car was driven by professional race car driver Shea Holbrook.[10] In her 2018 attempt, Mueller-Korenek circled the track times after casting off the tow rope, breaking the world record on her final mile. Her goal had been to break the previous record of 167mph; she was surprised to learn she had reached 183.9mph, breaking Rompelberg's record by almost 17mph. "We weren't supposed to go more than 175," she said.[14]
Documentary: How This Cyclist Hit 184MPH and Set the World Record, Wall Street Journal. (YouTube, 21 min)