Saturday, May 23rd, Politecnico di Torino’s Team Policumbent breaks a new handcycling World Record!
The Student Team "Policumbent" from the Politecnico di Torino has broken the World Record in the "Men’s 10.000 meters standing start, arms only (single rider)" category of the World Human Powered Vehicle Association. Driven solely by the arm power of Paralympic champion Diego Colombari inside the team-designed Cerberus prototype, the team adds this milestone to their existing speed and hour records. Colombari covered the 10-kilometer trial in 13:56.94 minutes on the High-Speed Track at Stellantis' Balocco Proving Ground.
The previous record, held by Britain's Kevin Doran, stood at 18:22.80 minutes. Cerberus first clocked an excellent 14:18.96 minutes during the morning attempt, before improving even further in the afternoon to close at 13:56.94 minutes, thanks to a different aerodynamic setup designed and implemented by the Team.
The day featured two distinct record attempts: the first in the morning, with the endurance aerodynamics package, ptimized for ventilation, this configuration featured an open front hole (no plexiglass in front of the cameras) and a raised tail section. These acted as an air intake and exhaust, respectively, ensuring a greater airflow inside the cockpit to assist Colombari’s breathing; then, in the afternoon a sprint package has been chosen, similar to the setup used in Nevada (given the comparable distance of the trial—10 kilometers instead of roughly 8), this configuration featured plexiglass covering the cameras and a completely closed tail section to maximize aerodynamics.
In preparation for this record, the team focused on two key areas: engineering an aerodynamic setup that was easy to modify—allowing both configurations to be used on the same day—and lightening several secondary components. To minimize inertia during acceleration from a standing start, these weight reductions were achieved without altering either the transmission or the prototype's core structure.
The record is now under review by the World Human Powered Vehicle Association for official certification.
This achievement was made possible thanks to:
- Politecnico di Torino and the Contribution Commission, which has supported the Team for seventeen years;
- Balocco Proving Ground and Stellantis, for providing the test track;
- All the Team's partner companies and sponsors
- World Human Powered Vehicle Association, for the record certification;
- Federazione Italiana Cronometristi, for their support in tracking lap times;
- Team HideOut from Politecnico di Torino, for on-track video footage;
- And, of course, the entire Team Policumbent.
Policumbent
Policumbent is a Student Team from the Politecnico di Torino, founded in 2009 with the goal of designing the fastest human-powered vehicles in the world. It holds the World Speed Record for an "arm-powered" vehicle with "Cerberus," with 83.28 km/h; while for the "leg-powered" category, it holds the Italian male (136.49 km/h) and female (123.88 km/h) records.
Cerberus
Cerberus is the Team's first hand-trike prototype, designed and built between 2021 and 2022. It was also the first prototype to break a world record fifteen years after the Team's founding, reaching 83.28 km/h during the World Human Powered Speed Challenge 2024, and the World Hour Record covering 34.90 km at Balocco Proving Ground in October 2025.
Diego Colombari
A para-cyclist from Cuneo, already multi-medaled in international competitions, he won the Gold Medal at the Para-cycling World Championship in 2021 and was crowned Paralympic Champion in the relay in Tokyo 2021. He became the fastest man in the world on a hand-trike in September 2024 during the WHPSC with Cerberus, designed and built by Team Policumbent. In October 2025, still with Team Policumbent, he confirmed his high level by claiming the World Record for the maximum distance convered in one hour.