People say Markus Stockl is the real life Mad Max, but not because he is fighting some evil leader in the desert, but because he uses that place mainly to reach high speeds on a bicycle.
Markus ‘Max’ Stockl is a man who seeks adventure and records. For two years, he has been laying out a new plan to put himself in the record books again. And he managed to do so recently in 11 seconds and at a speed of 167.6 km/h (104.1 mph) down a mountain with no name in the Atacama desert, Chile.
“It’s hard to reach top speed,” Markus explained. “After 160, each km/h is a huge effort. If you want to reach a certain goal, then you have to put it all in.”
And yes, he did it on a bicycle every one can buy. The only special kit for the job was a specially-made costume and helmet to offer him better aerodynamic properties.
“It’s a standard mountain bike so there’s no part on the bike that you cannot buy,” he added. “Sure, it’s a high-end bike with the best parts of it but you can buy any part, nothing has been specially made.”
Most of the job was done by gravity and his custom figure-hugging suit along with the two-part helmet - the standard protective one and the second aerodynamically layer on top to ensure less air resistance as possible.
The preparation to get here included test runs on all type of surfaces, from snow in the Tyrol mountains to the rocks and gravel in the Chile, which ultimately allowed him to reach the desired speed.
Stockl has a penchant for breaking records. Brought up in the Austrian mountains, this thirst for speed was established at a young age, his place in the speed annuals first cemented in 1999.
Up until now, he set multiple records at the French ski resort of Les Arcs and on a volcano in Nicaragua among others. The adventure and real challenge he had in Chile lately, seems to have extinguished his burning desire of speed. At least for now.
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