Éric Barone

Éric Barone (born 4 November 1960 in Oyonnax, France) is a French sportsman. He holds the world speed record for bicycle, on both snow and gravel. On snow, his speed record is 222 kilometres per hour (138 mph) achieved in Les Arcs, while on gravel his speed record is 172 kilometres per hour (107 mph), achieved at the Cerro Negro volcano, in Nicaragua. His French nickname is “Baron Rouge”, which means Red Baron.

Biography

After some initial jobs, including acting as stunt double of actors Sylvester Stallone, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Adrian Paul, at 34 he started trying to achieve speed records on a bicycle. Barone achieved the record on snow in 1994, beating the previous record by Christian Taillefer. He broke the record again in 1999 and on 21 April 2000, when he reaches 222 kilometres per hour (138 mph) at Les Arcs ski resort, France, using an aerodynamic prototype bicycle, helmet and clothing.

In 1999 he reached 118 kilometres per hour (73 mph) on gravel in Hawaii. After that, his goal was to show he could be faster on gravel. He discovered the Cerro Negro volcano in Nicaragua. Its clean slopes and soft volcanic ash were ideal.