Para cyclist Franz-Josef Lässer sets the UCI Hour Record presented by Tissot in C5 sport class

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is pleased to announce that the Austrian para cyclist Franz-Josef Lässer has broken the UCI Hour Record presented by Tissot in the MC5 category, covering a distance of 52.054 kilometres at the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland.

The 25-year-old para cyclist went 583 metres further than the previous MC5 record, set on 14 August 2025 by British rider William Bjergfelt (51.471km) at the Konya Velodrome in Türkiye.

Franz-Josef Lässer, who has dysmelia affecting the fingers of his left hand, is an accomplished rider both on the track and road. He competed in the two disciplines at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and was crowned UCI World Champion in 2025 in para cycling track (elimination race) and para cycling road (individual time trial). He also competes in non-para cycling events, finishing eighth in the scratch race at the 2026 UEC Elite Track European Championships. On the road, he is a member of the UCI Continental Team WSA KTM Graz.

After breaking the record in Grenchen on 6 August, the Austrian said: “It was all controlled until it wasn’t! The first 15-20 minutes was planned. We wanted to go like 17.1s, 17.0s splits, more towards the 53km mark than 52km but the heat was a little bit too much and the air pressure the last few days wasn’t as good as we’d hoped for.

“On the day you just do what you can. We came here with the motto ‘train for the worst and hope for the best’. The worst was reach 52km in any conditions and that’s what we did, which is pretty awesome. In the last 15 minutes I had nothing left to accelerate. I tried to count down the pursuits… count down 16 laps each time… I was so done in my head. I was just trying to hold this thing together with whatever was left. It was so insanely hard, the hardest thing I’ve ever done!"

The new MC5 record-holder added: “I see it as my duty to put para cycling into the spotlight whenever I can. This record is a message of exactly that.”

Para cycling sport classes for track events

C - Cycle: conventional bike with adaptations if necessary

B - Tandem: for a blind or visually impaired athlete with a sighted pilot.

Group C is divided into five different sport classes (1-5). The lower the number, the more severe the impairment.