Around this time last year we reported on the new record set by Cannondale’s Mike Cotty – the 212 miles from Eastbourne to Winchester and back along the South Downs Way in 22 hours and 25 minutes. In that story, we mentioned that Ian Butler (who we described as being from Tunbridge Wells but is actually resident in nearby Groombridge) was the previous holder of the record. Well, now Ian is aiming to get it back…

Thanks to Whyte Racing UK, the 45 year old outdoors fanatic has a Whyte E-5 full suspension bike at his disposal to tackle the 212 miles (and not-inconsiderable 22,000ft of climbing) on the route.

“I stopped to chat to loads of people last time and wasn’t under any pressure,” says Ian. “Now the heat is turned up and I want the record back.”

Ian will be backed on the ride by Whyte Racing UK, wife Sarah, coach Andy Meyers and other friends who will drive the route in cars and provide food and drink at five dedicated stops along the way. He’s been training at home on an indoor turbo-trainer riding three hours a day (and presumably either watching a lot of DVDs or being blessed with a quite extraordinary boredom threshold) and regularly cycles the 54 mile round trip to his parents’ home in Orpington.

Ian said: “I am stopping only to wolf down some energy bars and will carry drinks with me so I should take minutes off the record. I want it back. Last time it didn’t matter – it was incidental. This time I am really focussed.”

He works in IT for a large insurance firm in Tunbridge Wells and describes himself as an ‘incidental’ cyclist: “I love rock climbing – that is my sport. And on this route I will be riding a total climb in miles higher than the Lhotse face of the Annapurna in Nepal.”

Whyte Racing’s Andy Jeffries, from Eastbourne, commented: “We went for a training ride with Ian and he blew us away. This guy climbs like a rocket sledge on rails. It’ll be champagne all round if he gets the record back.”

We’re not sure that climbing like a sledge is necessarily a good thing, but best of luck to Ian – he’ll be starting at the distinctly antisocial time of 2.30am on Saturday 16 June.