I'm actually not certain whether I could beat the world record runners over any distance at all using my bicycle.
It's still mind boggling that a guy could run besides me for 10 kilometres.
100m in 9.6 seconds from a standing start, though... That would be pretty tough. You'd need a fixed gear bike, I think, and crazy grippy tyres :-) I've never ridden track and I often wonder what kind of acceleration those guys can get.
Assuming he reached his max speed at 100m and than held on to that speed until the finish, his 100m split was 10.0 seconds.
Obviously there are some questionable assumptions in there, but this is a world record holder on an event that is very close to an all out sprint, and these calculations suggest that he was slower than Bolt over the initial 100m.
I think a world class track cyclist could do it with a lower ratio on their gear than normal could do it, but a regular Joe most definitely couldn't.
As for the 10s from standing still, it shouldn't be that hard. I think I could do it, and while I do use my bikes somewhat often, I'm by no means an "athlete". Anyway, having a fixed gear wouldn't play any role in it, nor would have the grippiness of tyres (they are all grippy enough).
But the acceleration issue is clearly also very significant and I hadn't put much thought into it.
It's still faster than current my long-distance pace. What people tell me I'm missing is that I've never adopted clipless pedals (pedal cleats) and am still riding flat pedals even over 100 km and 100 mi distances. So I'm not getting power on the upstroke as 95% of the other event participants probably are.
I suspect the more important part is that you are getting better power while pushing down because your foot is always in the optimal position.
Edit: it's discussed at https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/14059/are-there...
As for clipless pedals, I'll agree with the other poster who says that they have limited value for power. Their main use (IMHO) is safety. Never again have your foot slip off the pedals when it is raining. Never again have to concentrate on your feet when you are riding over uneven surfaces. I've spent a fair amount on my bike and nothing has come close to the value of clipless pedals in terms of increasing the enjoyment of my ride.
Thus the power of the bicycle ;)
However, you did succeed in finding a distance over which I can beat the world record runner, as my 100 mile cycling time is already better than the world record for running 100 miles. But not half of it!
I have a colleague who's an ultramarathon runner, and another thing that I find amazing is that, for what I believe is at least the past 8 years or so, his longest running distance has consistently been longer than my longest cycling distance. Every time I've completed a new longer distance on my bike, he's also completed a longer ultramarathon that was also longer than my bike event. It's not a competition; we just both keep periodically increasing our distances and his level of fitness (and ambition) is incredible.