Average speed challenge: How hard is it to ride at 30kph?

Cycling is full of milestones. When beginner cyclists make their first foray into the sport, this is often a certain distance or ride time. A 20-mile ride may be an early goal, before it builds up to 50 miles. Before you know it, you’re attempting a century ride. For some hardy souls that’s not enough, leading to a double century.

Once someone has ticked off many of these distance milestones and caught the cycling bug, an obsession with average speed often develops, and it can be all-consuming. Cyclists - including our own presenters - have been known to end the recording of a ride on their computers early when faced with a climb, just to protect their precious average speed. And when it comes to average speed, one figure stands out as a key milestone above all others: 30kph.

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To a seasoned cyclist, 30kph may not sound like that much, but it’s harder to sustain than you may think. For comparison, the average speed across the whole of the 2023 Tour de France was a mind-boggling 41kph. Along with the pros’ considerable talent, this speed is partly made possible by the closed roads and an army of support staff, not to mention a draft from the peloton. Average cyclists don’t benefit from these factors, instead having to contend with traffic, the weather and bustling cities to keep that precious average speed as high as possible. So, how hard is it to actually hold 30kph in the real world?

GCN’s Conor Dunne and James ‘Hank’ Lowsley-Williams wanted to find out, so they decided to embark on a challenge. The rules were simple: they had to keep their average speed above 30kph, including any hold ups at traffic lights or cafe breaks, in the case of Hank. As soon as it dipped below that magical figure, the ride was over. To make it even more challenging, our dynamic duo started their ride in the centre of Bath, with its stop-start traffic.

So, who would average 30kph for the longest? Watch the full video at the top of this page to find out.

Check out more challenges and adventures on the lifestyle section of the GCN website, linked here.