Shaved arms, special tyres, and an 11-page plan: How one rider masterminded his way to Strava's most popular KOM

It took eight people and an 11-page plan for Dom Jackson to raid the KOM on Box Hill, one of the most competitive segments on Strava. 

The 2.2km-long climb in Surrey has been attempted almost 1.4 million times by more than 150,000 users of the platform. On Tuesday, Jackson and his Foran race team set the fastest time ever, barrelling at an average speed of 33.7km/h to clock four minutes and five seconds. 

The crown, Jackson told Cycling Weekly, was the fruit of meticulous preparation, a master plan he hatched days before that involved him shaving his arms, eating only rice and sweets, and calling on his parents to help out. 

"Box Hill is a bit of a big deal," Jackson said. "It's the reason we targeted that one. Especially near London, it's either that or Richmond Park that are probably the most looked-at segments by riders who are borderline pros and also complete amateurs." 

The 26-year-old falls somewhere in between the two. A former rower, Jackson took up cycling during Covid, and began racing national events in 2022. He now works as a private coach, and earlier this year, finished 13th at the National Road Championships, won by Ineos Grenadiers' Ethan Hayter. He also claimed the overall at the iconic Rás Tailteann stage race in Ireland. 

Jackson's most famous honour to date, though, is his Box Hill KOM. "My post on Strava has got like 40-odd comments, it's a bit surreal," he said. "Some of them are like, 'This is the talk of Dorking, you're famous!' It’s very funny."

The Foran rider's first attempt on the segment came last Thursday, when he and his teammates attacked it on a whim. "We all started at the bottom together, and almost like the traditional Sky train, people did as long as they could and then peeled off," he said. 

"We got like seven out of the 10 [Box Hill segments], but the main one, or the one that pops up the most, is the Box Hill 2.2, and I thought it would be quite nice to get that."

The Box Hill 2.2 segment, ridden by WorldTour pros like Neilson Powless and Oliver Naesen, had stood for over two years at 4 minutes and 20 seconds until last week. On Friday, the day after Jackson's first run, Q36.5 rider and former Irish national champion Rory Townsend went after it, together with one of Jackson's teammates, and shaved off seven seconds. 

"I was at the pub because it was one of my mates' birthdays, and I was there like, 'Oh man, I had these KOMs for literally less than a day, and they've just been absolutely smashed'," Jackson said. "I was a bit sulky that evening, and then thought it's actually not too much faster.

"I looked at a thing called myWindSock so I could get an idea of how many watts I'd have to do with the right wind conditions and low pressure. Then I thought I could also get my bike a little bit quicker. I could put on slightly faster tyres and take off the bottle cages. It's four minutes, I'm not trying to take a drink whilst going.

"I put on some TT tyres and used pretty much the minimum amount of sealant in them. At 33km/h, the rolling resistance isn't going to change massively. Those TT tyres are just much lighter," he added.

With his sights on the record, Jackson made a group chat with his Foran teammates, club manager and parents, and sent them an 11-page document he had created. In it, the 26-year-old detailed each person's roles, with three riders assigned lead-out duties to specific markers, and others in charge of spotting traffic. 

"Both of my parents came out as well, wearing hi-vis jackets to basically marshal the corners," Jackson explained. "If I was able to absolutely rail that first corner, and maybe the hairpin, there's a second at least in there. I wanted that peace of mind that the roads were clear and I wasn't going to get squashed."

Menacing weather scheduled for Tuesday morning made for "super low air pressure", Jackson explained, the perfect storm for KOM chasing. The effort itself was planned for 6pm. "People were sneaking away from work early," he laughed. 

Sitting in fourth wheel, Jackson hit the bottom of the climb at 40km/h. He had calculated he would need to hold around 510 watts, travelling at over 32.7km/h, to beat Townsend's record. "I remember looking down at my head unit for the first two sections and seeing 35km/h, way faster. We were flying up the thing," he said. 

"I was kind of shocked at how fast we actually went up it. My predictions were that we would be within one second of Rory's time, so then to go and smash it by eight seconds was outrageous."

Some of that margin came from the slightest of details. "I shaved my arms," Jackson said. "I don't usually shave my arms, but it is quicker, so I'm going to shave my arms to make myself quicker." 

The Foran rider also made himself lighter, thanks to a fuelling strategy he started in the days before the attempt. "I tried to cut out a little bit of fibre from my diet, because it stores water in your gut. I figured if I was able to shed even just a kilo and a half, just on water weight, I'd be a little bit quicker up the climb," Jackson explained. "It was literally just white rice and sweets for the entire day beforehand."

Since posting his ride, Jackson said his "mind has been blown" by the response from other Strava users. Many have congratulated him, while some have questioned the legitimacy of his effort, suggesting he should have completed it solo. 

"I understand where they're coming from," he said. "But if you look at any of the efforts in the top 25, none of them are solo. As long as you're not being motorpaced up there, I think if it's another cyclist, and you're just drafting, if you can, I think that's fair game."

Now, with the KOM in hand, the 26-year-old has turned his focus to devising another plan: the team celebrations. "I offered to buy drinks for everyone," he said. "But the lads were like, 'Let's do it at the end of the season.' Some of them were driving back, and it was a Tuesday night. They just wanted to get home at that point, which is fair enough. 

"I think we'll have a big celebration when all of our racing in the team ends at the end of this year."