This is a great video from Rule 28 showing Matt Rossiter’s recent ‘record’ lap of Richmond Park (London), averaging 51.6km/h (174bpm, 449w).
It’s the view from an out-front video camera for the entire lap, looking back at him and the gorgeous scenery behind. The ride itself was on 28 May 2026, months before Rule 28 published the video in September, and uses the ‘official’ anti-clockwise lap with a flying start from the car park near Roehampton Gate.
I must have cycled this over 500 times but never quite touching any of his speeds. His effort is remarkably well measured and relatively even considering the two short uphill sections. Nice job, and a good watch for anyone who knows or wants to know one of the UK’s most popular cycling destinations (and mine!). For what it’s worth, I checked the age-group board out of curiosity, and I’m sitting in the top 50 myself (not bad for a runner), nowhere near Rossiter’s company but on the same leaderboard all the same; I never target that precise segment.
Who Rossiter is
Matt Rossiter is a former GB rower who competed in the men’s four at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, finishing fourth, and won World Championship bronze in 2017 and 2019 and European gold in 2019 and 2021. He retired from rowing at the end of 2022 to become a cyclor with INEOS Britannia, pedalling the hydraulic systems that trim the boat’s sails, and was part of the crew that won the Louis Vuitton Cup at the 2024 America’s Cup. Cyclors are expected to hold over 500 watts for 20-minute spells and sprint past 1,800 watts, which explains why 449w for a 12-minute lap is well within his range.
Rule 28’s angle
Rule 28 is a London-based aero apparel brand founded in 2017 by Sam Calder, known for publishing its own aerodynamic test data rather than relying on marketing claims. It makes a High Speed Aero Base Layer specifically optimised for speeds over 50km/h. Rossiter’s 51.6km/h average lines up almost exactly with that product, so the video doubles as a demonstration piece.
How 12:35 stacks up
Rossiter’s 12:35 is now the course record on Strava’s Tour de Richmond Park segment. The previous best was 12:55, twenty seconds back, by far the biggest gap anywhere on the leaderboard, where most rankings sit a second or two apart because those riders were drafting each other in a group.
| Rank | Rider | Time | Date | Power | Heart rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Rossiter | 12:35 | 28 May 2026 | 449W | 174bpm |
| 2 | Jack Rootkin-Gray | 13:25 | 24 Jun 2026 | 404W | – |
| 3 | Dan Hurley / Archie Waller | 13:40 | 24 Jun 2026 | 382W / 344W | – |
| 5 | Kasper S.R. Thomsen | 13:41 | 24 Jun 2026 | 386W | – |
Filtered to this year alone, the gap is fifty seconds, not twenty, since the two riders sharing the all-time second slot rode back in 2021. Around a third of 2026’s other quick laps came on that single Wednesday in June, a club chaingang effort rather than a run of solo rides. Rossiter didn’t need the biggest numbers either. Tom Springbett posted 471 watts in 2024 and still finished 44 seconds slower, and several riders further down the board logged higher heart rates than Rossiter’s 174bpm while going nowhere near as fast. David Millar’s unofficial 13:35 from 2011 and Rob Sharland’s Strava KOM of 13:57 from 2017, both cited elsewhere as the park’s historic benchmarks, don’t appear in the top 25 of today’s open leaderboard.
| Age group | Rider | Club | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35-44 (and outright) | Matt Rossiter | Unaffiliated | 12:35 | 28 May 2026 |
| 35-44, previous best | Yanto | Engyne-health | 12:55 | 7 Sept 2021 |
| 45-54 | Piers Curle | ONYX RT | 13:27 | 16 Jun 2021 |
| 55-64 | David J Webborn | – | 15:17 | 3 Sept 2014 |
ONYX RT and LC RT, two established London time-trial clubs, supply four of the six fastest names in the 45-54 bracket. The 55-64 top ten also has a nice bit of trivia: Gavin Francis, very likely the same Gavin Francis whose Science4Performance blog has spent years statistically dissecting this exact segment’s leaderboard, wind directions and all. Rossiter also has his own Strava pro athlete profile. For what it’s worth, I wrote in 2021 that modern kit and a rider properly targeting the course would be “well below 13 minutes.” Four years on, that’s exactly what’s happened. Sub-12 might be possible.
Quick answers
Who is Matt Rossiter?
A former GB Olympic rower turned America’s Cup cyclor for INEOS Britannia, who competed at Tokyo 2020 and won the Louis Vuitton Cup with the team in 2024.
What is the Richmond Park lap record?
12:35, held by Matt Rossiter as the course record on Strava’s Tour de Richmond Park segment. He rode it on 28 May 2026, taking 20 seconds off the previous best of 12:55.
What is the Strava segment for the Richmond Park lap?
It’s called Tour de Richmond Park, and you can view its leaderboard directly at strava.com/segments/610040.
When did Matt Rossiter actually ride the record lap?
28 May 2026, according to the date on the Strava leaderboard. Rule 28 didn’t publish the ride video until September 2026, about four months later.
What is the record power output for a Richmond Park lap?
449 watts average, at 51.6km/h and around 174bpm, for Matt Rossiter’s 12:35 lap.
Is Rossiter's 12:35 lap an official Strava record?
Yes. It’s the course record on the Tour de Richmond Park segment, credited to Matt Rossiter on Strava’s leaderboard and on his pro athlete profile.
How does 12:35 compare to David Millar's famous Richmond Park lap?
It’s a minute faster. Millar’s unofficial 2011 lap came in at 13:35; details and video history here.
What was the Richmond Park KOM before Rossiter's lap?
12:55, held jointly by two riders, Llewellyn and Yanto, since September 2021. Older, less formally verified benchmarks include David Millar’s 13:35 from 2011 and Rob Sharland’s Strava KOM of 13:57 from 2017, though neither appears on this segment’s current leaderboard.
What is the highest power ever recorded for a Richmond Park lap?
471 watts, by Tom Springbett in 2024, though that effort still finished 44 seconds slower than Rossiter’s 449-watt record lap.
Who has the fastest Richmond Park time in 2026?
Matt Rossiter, by fifty seconds. The next-fastest 2026 time is Jack Rootkin-Gray’s 13:25, set in a group ride on 24 June that also produced most of the season’s other quick laps.
What is the Richmond Park age-group record for 35-44?
12:35, the same as the outright record, since Rossiter falls in that bracket. It’s 20 seconds clear of Yanto’s 12:55 from 2021.
What is the Richmond Park record for the 45-54 age group?
13:27, held by Piers Curle of ONYX RT since 2021, nearly a minute slower than Rossiter’s overall record.
What is the fastest Richmond Park time for riders aged 55-64?
David J Webborn holds that age-group record at 15:17, set in 2014, the oldest date to appear on any of the segment’s age-group leaderboards.
What is Rule 28?
A London-based aero cycling apparel brand founded in 2017, known for publishing its own wind-tunnel and field-test data rather than relying on marketing claims.
Where does the Richmond Park lap start and finish?
The Strava segment measures 10.8km but doesn’t cover a complete lap of the park; the full perimeter road is about 7 miles (11.25km). The segment starts just after the Roehampton Gate roundabout and finishes back at the car park nearby, not car park to car park, and is ridden anti-clockwise.
How long is a lap of Richmond Park?
The full perimeter road is about 7 miles (11.25km). The Strava segment used for lap times is shorter, at 10.8km, since it doesn’t run car park to car park.
How many people have ridden the Richmond Park Strava segment?
Over 5.2 million attempts by more than 123,000 riders, according to the segment’s own tracked totals, making it one of the most contested stretches of road in Britain.
What is a good time for a lap of Richmond Park?
For most club riders, anything under 18 minutes is respectable and under 16 minutes is quick. Getting inside 14 minutes puts you within reach of the age-group boards; Rossiter’s 12:35 is the outright record.
Why does my GPS show a different distance for a lap of Richmond Park?
The perimeter road is about 11.25km, but I’ve seen GPS devices log it closer to 11.1km on a lap, a clockwise lap is slightly longer. That’s normal GPS variance from satellite reception and circle geometry.
Is Richmond Park good for cycling training?
Yes, it’s one of the most cycled areas in the UK on Strava. Here’s a course review from the London Duathlon, which uses Richmond Park’s roads.
Is cycling over 20mph in Richmond Park legal?
The 20mph limit is for vehicles, and Royal Parks has confirmed it doesn’t apply to cyclists. That’s not the whole legal picture. Section 35 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 covers causing bodily harm by ‘wanton or furious driving,’ and a bicycle counts in law as a carriage. Hence, the offence applies to cyclists too. It resurfaced in 2017 when Charlie Alliston was convicted under it after a pedestrian, Kim Briggs, died in a collision with his brakeless fixed-gear bike, because standard driving offences don’t cover bikes. The maximum sentence under that Victorian law was capped at two years, which is part of why the government’s 2025 Crime and Policing Bill proposes dedicated dangerous cycling offences instead. Rossiter would have fallen under this law had his lap gone wrong and hurt someone, but nobody was hurt, so the ride stands as a speed record rather than a legal problem. For anyone weighing up their own on-bike speed data, here’s when Garmin and Wahoo speed metrics are actually useful.
Last Updated on 20 September 2026 by the5krunner
My favourite kit and nutrition
- Garmin Fenix 9 Pro — I’ve just bought one.
- Injinji – Runners protect your toes. Avoid discomfort and minor injury. Run more. Run faster. I use them.
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter — A small keyring adapter you can use anywhere. Essential when away. I use one.
- Garmin charging puck — the fastest and most reliable way to top up your Garmin before a session. I use one.
- Ravemen FR300 — Front light that mounts directly under your Garmin or Wahoo head unit. Keeps your bars clean and your beam pointed where it matters. I use one.
- Body Glide – The blue anti-chafe stick that all swimmers and many runners use. I use it.
- Maurten — The race nutrition trusted by elite athletes. Gels and drink mixes engineered to be easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Garmin Varia RTL515 — A radar rear light that alerts you to vehicles approaching from behind. Pairs with your Edge or Wahoo. I use this model.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2 — The power-meter pedals most serious cyclists choose. Accurate, easy to move between bikes. I use this model.
- Garmin Forerunner 970 — A serious choice for a pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Polar H10 — My daily driver for accurate, waking HRV readings.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3 — The bike computer that has the feature Garmin lacks: usability. I use mine on most rides.
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID
