Frenchman Eric Barone clocks worlds fastest speed on mountain bike… again!

video by: 3GO Production

The word ‘fearless’ exists to describe the likes of 54-year-old Eric Barone of France. You may recall us covering his previous achievement for worlds fastest speed on bike, and he has just beaten his own previous speed, this time at Vars (part of the French Alps) and in some seriously incredible surroundings.

Barone clocked an impressive 138.75 mph and he did so in a wind chill of negative-four degrees and with winds of 40 mph!

This latest successful attempt was a culmination of a project lasting three years, with just the custom carbon body bike costing the Frenchman over $87,000. The figure went up nearly threefold, owing to track construction and other wider project costs.

Eric is fondly known as ‘Red Baron’ – which does sound quite super-hero-like, and justified considering he is a real-life human bullet on 2 wheels! And the frenchman certainly knows what he’s doing… with a past career as a stuntman and a history of multiple prior records to his name, his first one being in 1994, then 1999 and then once more, in 2000.

He was 39 on his last attempt and now at 54 he tells us that he is feeling better and stronger than ever, having beaten his 2000 attempt at the ski resort of Les Acres by just one crucial kmph. He certainly had to be pretty confident to even attempt the record again what with the costs and logistics of putting it all together…

On top of that, previously in 2002 saw him speed down a volcano in Nicaragua to break the gravel record speed of 172 kmph. Victory was won just seconds before his bike went ahead and collapsed underneath him, sending the thrill seeker tumbling down a stony incline at breakneck speeds. On this occasion he was lucky enough (considering!!) to only have got away with tearing both shoulders, breaking six of his ribs alongside many other life-threatening injuries which he survived.

We’d go so far to change his name to ‘The Mighty Red Baron’ for it takes real super hero qualities to fall, and then keep getting back up… let alone coming back with even more might than before as Barone has proven.

We salute you Eric Barone… and we are truly privileged to call you a friend!!!

Extra video footage from Eric’s latest stunt is withheld for now as it will be featuring as part of a documentary project airing soon.

Photos by: R. Bord and provided for Newsivity coverage.
Video by: 3GO Productions

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