Cycling 100 kilometres in an afternoon could be a challenge for most people who have passed their twenties, let alone for someone who turns 101 next month, but that's what former fireman Robert Marchand achieved to the amazement of onlookers, and the scientific community.
Marchand, who weighs 51 kilograms and was a boxing enthusiast in his youth, completed the 300 laps at a cycling track in Lyon in central France in 4 hours 17 minutes and 27 seconds - a record for a man of his age, according to officials from the French Cycling Federation who were in attendance.
His first reaction on winning was that he would have preferred an alternative to the accordion that played on the stands.
"Next time, please play some military music. And with military music, one wins," he told reporters.
Marchand claims to have covered hundreds of thousands of kilometres on his bicycle during his lifetime and his chief complaint was familiar to cyclists of any age.
"What made me suffer the most is the hands and the arms - they get pins and needles - and my backside. I've only got skin left," he said.
Marchand lives alone, drives a car, makes his own meals and cleans his apartment with no help. The wiry centenarian says he never smoked, but otherwise indulged a healthy appetite for wine and women throughout his life.
His uncommon vitality has piqued the interest of scientists at the Inserm public research institute, who examine Marchand every three months in an attempt to understand the secret to his longevity and well-being.
He turns 101 in November.