British pro Alexandar Richardson uploads super-fast London to Brighton return ride to Strava

Alexandar Richardson has posted an incredible ride he completed on Wednesday to Strava, which saw the British pro cycle from his home in southwest London to Brighton and back again at an impressive speed.

The Alpecin-Fenix rider covered 177km in 4-31-35, equating to an average speed of 39.4kmh. The winner of the Tour de France's average speed across all 21 stages is generally around 40kmh, making Richardson's solo training ride all the more impressive. 

Due to the hills throughout the ride, he even managed to reach speeds as high as 65kmh, with his top speed during the ride 70kmh.

In total, he encountered over 2,200m of elevation gain, while his cadence averaged 77.

Richardson also achieved four KOM awards during the ride too, one of which came at the gruelling Ditchling Beacon, the highest point in East Sussex. Richardson's climb of Ditchling Beacon saw him experience a 150m elevation change, and he tackled it having already completed 80km on his ride. The Briton finished the 1.46km segment in 5-22, which is an average pace of 16.4kmh.

Richardson said on the post of the Strava ride: "Solo road bike to Brighton and back. Aim was 40kmh average. I don’t think I got much more than that.

"Dinner on me if you can beat it. Not Motorpaced!"

Richardson's impressive ride comes a month after a knife-wielding gang attacked him in Richmond Park, stealing his multi-thousand pound S-Works bike in the process. He suffered cuts, bruises and a swollen hip after being dragged by a motorbike for 100 metres, but has since managed to recover positively, it seems.

The 31-year-old still achieved a sixth-place finish at the British National Road Race Championships just days after suffering that attack, and his latest Strava ride suggests that he is ramping up preparations ahead of the 2022 season.

He will ride for Belgian ProTeam Alpecin-Fenix again next season, after joining them in 2020 from British Continental Team Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes.