Can Strava turn you into a professional cyclist? Jack Burke snatches the Mortirolo record from Nibali and claims a chance in the World Tour

The former Canadian professional Jack Burke, a discreet rider in the continental category until two years ago, has managed to reduce by almost a minute the time that Vincenzo Nibali had on the Strava segment that covers the fearsome climb to Mortirolo, and he does so by leaving a message in which he asks for someone to give him a chance in the World Tour.

Breaks Nibali's record on Mortirolo and aims for Pogacar's on Col de la Madone

“I want a chance in the World Tour. From anyone, anywhere, and anytime. I'll do whatever you want. I want a chance against the best”. This is how Canadian cyclist Jack Burke titled an activity uploaded on the popular sports social network, Strava.

Burke is a 29-year-old cyclist who has only been competing nationally since last year but was a professional in continental category teams between 2016 and 2022, achieving a single victory during that period after winning a stage in the Tour de Beauce in 2018. A career marked by a positive test for hydrochlorothiazide, a banned diuretic in 2013, which was ultimately overturned by the CAS as it was considered to have been caused by the ingestion of contaminated water from the city where the adverse result occurred.

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However, the Canadian is not resigned to having his cycling career end there and continues to aspire to compete against the best, as he made known after uploading his activity to Strava. In any case, despite the stratospheric nature of the record, Burke has a little trick up his sleeve, as he specifically set out to break the record. In fact, the route starts in Mazzo di Valtellina, after which he rides a few kilometers up the valley towards Bormio as a warm-up before returning to this town and facing the climb to the formidable Mortirolo.

We remind you that Mortirolo, one of the toughest climbs in professional cycling and a pilgrimage site for many cycling enthusiasts, has 11.4 kilometers with a chilling average gradient of 11.7%. Jack Burke took 43 minutes and 45 seconds to cover it, 58 seconds less than Vincenzo Nibali's previous record, at a power output of 435 watts, which means an average speed of 15.7 km/h. Undoubtedly, figures that are unattainable for the average person. As a reference, an average cyclist usually takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes to climb this route.

Furthermore, he is not content with having surpassed this tough KOM, but in the Strava activity, he also leaves a message, this time for none other than Tadej Pogacar, warning that he is going for the KOM on Col de la Madone, another iconic climb in the Nice area, popularized by Lance Armstrong in the past to the point that top-of-the-line Trek bicycles carry this name. A climb that is still one of the regular test ascents for the wide community of professional cyclists who, for tax reasons, reside in the luxurious Monaco. We will see if he is able to achieve it.