Milan's 3:58.850: the first sub-3:59 starts slow

Four kilometres, just under four minutes, nowhere to hide. Today in Shanghai Jonathan Milan became the first man to go under 3:59 in the individual pursuit: 3:58.850 in qualifying, then gold in the final against Denmark's Frederik Madsen. The record was already his, but the number is not what struck us most. It is how he got there: by starting slower than everyone else.

The record in numbers

The old mark, also Milan's, was 3:59.153, set on 18 October 2024 in the world final in Copenhagen against Britain's Josh Charlton. Today the Friulian from Buja shaved off 303 thousandths: 3:58.850, an average of 60.289 km/h. In qualifying Madsen stopped at 3:59.979, a second and 129 thousandths behind. Filippo Ganna qualified third in 4:00.976 and took bronze in the ride for third place. All of this came two days after the team pursuit silver, where Ganna, Lamon, Magagnotti and Milan were beaten by Denmark (the Italian women also took silver, Alzini, Balsamo, Fidanza and Guazzini, behind Great Britain).

The slow first kilometre

Here is the good part. The official splits read 1:04.343 at 1,000 m, 2:02.461 at 2,000 m and 3:00.665 at 3,000 m. Do the sums: 1:04.3 for the first kilometre, then 58.1, 58.2 and 58.2. From the second kilometre on Milan rode at about 62 km/h, steady as a metronome, with barely nine hundredths of a second between the fastest and slowest of those three. The first one, by contrast, was more than six seconds slower than each of the next three. Anyone who follows track racing knows the standing start is the hardest part and that the urge to push right away is huge. He let it go, and the record came where riders usually pay: in the last kilometre, held the same as the two before.

What anyone who rides (or runs) for fun can take home

The debate this opens

A record like this is bound to start arguments, and rightly so. Some say equipment, air in the venue and the track count almost as much as the legs, and they are not wrong: nobody will ever tell us how many of those 303 thousandths are physiology and how many engineering. We see it like this: a second and 129 thousandths over the runner-up means there were legs in it, and Italian pursuit, with two silvers in the teams and a bronze for Ganna on top of Milan's gold, had a day to remember. We would still like to know more about gearing and position choices, and we hope they come out soon.

What to watch next

For Milan the road picks up again with the new season: if you want to note the 2027 race dates, from gran fondos to classics, it is all in our 2027 Calendar.

And now it is your turn: is starting slow and finishing strong a lesson you really apply, or does the first climb set off your instinct and you are over the limit? Tell us in the comments how you handle your first kilometres, and which of your favourite routes would be the perfect pacing test.