this 29-year-old amateur beats a legendary Nibali record and demands his chance in the pros

After breaking Vincenzo Nibali's Strava climb record on the legendary Mortirolo pass, Jack Burke, a 29-year-old amateur cyclist, hopes to be offered a contract with a professional team.

We knew the story of Jay Vine, revealed during confinement for his performances on the virtual platform Zwift and immediately signed by Alpecin-Fenix. What's next? Two stage victories in the Vuelta, an Australian time trial champion title and an arrival with UAE Team Emirates, the all-powerful team of Tadej Pogacar. Jack Burke, for his part, is not counting on Zwift but on Strava to force his destiny.

“I don’t know what more I can do.”

With its claimed 100 million members around the world, this application launched in 2009 allows you to record your results via a smartphone or GPS sensors. In just a few years it has become essential for cyclists, both in the pro peloton and among amateurs where many like to compare their times to those of their idols.

This is how Jack Burke, a 29-year-old Canadian amateur, tackled the legendary ascent of Mortirolo, in northern Italy, in order to get noticed. And it hit very hard on November 16. With a time of 43 minutes and 45 seconds, he beat by more than a minute the previous record for the climb which had been established by a certain… Vincenzo Nibali (44 minutes and 52 seconds, in 2019).

Something to catch the eye of a professional team? This is the dearest wish of Jack Burke, who has raced in the past at amateur and continental level, as reported by Cycling News. “I don't know what more I can do, I've done everything I can. I just want my chance! A chance to compete against the best guys in the world. I've done everything I can “, he said on his Instagram account.

In addition to the Mortirolo, he claims to have broken the record for the ascent of the Stelvio, another legendary pass, and has promised to publish the proof very soon.