CHAPTER 1: IN ONE DAY

The first chapter in our year-long story about the world’s greatest sport takes us to New Zealand.

The record for the fastest known time between Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand’s North Island is a rich piece of cycling history. Broken multiple times through the early 1980s, two riders, Brian Fleck and most recently Brian Lambert, set phenomenal times on this storied route. The current record has gone unbeaten since Brian Lambert set a time of 19 hours and 59 minutes in 1984. Over 40 years later, Lachlan Morton, Rapha Athlete and pioneering ultra racer, attempted to beat this time.

To define the method of Morton could be seen as madness. His dossard-pinning days aren’t over, it’s just that he’s in the habit of pursuing more abstract measurements of progress. Like circumnavigating Australia in 30 days or riding his Alt Tour self-supported to reach Paris 96 hours ahead of the regular peloton. 

His finish line is seeing how far he can push his body, and ultimately his mind. But maybe that’s overstating it. Lachlan likes to ride his bike fast and far, and we’re here to support him and his legs all the way.

Lachlan discovered this challenge via his friend and former pro racer, Hayden McCormick. Having rubbed shoulders with each other professionally, notably at the 2019 Tour of Utah, the two riders have a mutual fascination with the local folklore they’d discovered as young club riders in their respective countries. New Zealander Hayden’s first coach Brian Fleck had briefly held the fastest known time in 1983 at 20 hours and 9 minutes. The story of this ride captured the 2024 Unbound champion’s imagination, and the fire for a new challenge was lit.

In 1983, Brian Fleck was chasing a record himself, trying to surpass the time set by Brian Lambert in the previous year. Giving up everything to train before and after work for a year, it was a Herculean effort by a then 43-year-old. Riding a steel bike and relying on time checks from his humble support van, Brian travelled a distance in one day that most pro cyclists would barely clock in a week. An audacious achievement that required months of preparation with his wife, Barbara, and a very large dose of Kiwi grit.

For Lachlan, a professional rider, using equipment that seems light-years ahead of that available in the 80’s, the focus was on showing this ride the universal respect it deserves.

Pushing ourselves to a place of discomfort is fundamental to cycling, but it takes people like Brian and Lachlan to define what’s possible. Is it madness? No, it’s what the bike can teach us. Go beyond daily movements, go beyond our perceived comfort, and reveal greatness. No matter how many people know about it.

“It’s a battle against myself. My own self doubt, the screams from my body to relent. In the same breath, I want to hold this moment forever.”

Lachlan Morton broke the record riding 648km in a time of 18 hours and 28 minutes wearing our next generation Pro Team Bib Shorts III. Chapeau, Lachlan.  

The Pro Team Bib Shorts III, built for unhindered focus on the absolute limit. Launching Tuesday 25 February.

Sign up to be notified    

Correction: An earlier version of this story misattributed the current record to Brian Fleck and failed to acknowledge Brian Lambert’s role in this fastest known time. Brian Lambert held the record between 1984 and 2025 with a time of 19 hours and 59 minutes. Brian Fleck held the record the year previous in 1983 with a time of 20 hours and 9 minutes.