Molly Shaffer Van Houweling

Molly Shaffer Van Houweling pictured after her UCI hour record setting ride on September 12, 2015.

Molly Shaffer Van Houweling (born March 1, 1973) is an American cyclist, academic and legal scholar. Van Houweling is Professor of Law at the UC Berkeley School of Law and founding President and Treasurer of Creative Commons. Van Houweling is also on the board of Authors Alliance a non-profit organization that helps authors disseminate their work broadly. Van Houweling also serves as an Associate Reporter for the American Law Institute Restatement of Copyright. She received her J.D. from the Harvard Law School in 1998. After law school she clerked for Judge Michael Boudin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and then in 2000-2001 for Justice David Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court. She was previously on the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School before moving to UC Berkeley.

In addition to her work as a legal academic and copyright activist, Shaffer Van Houweling is also a competitive bicycle racer. On September 12, 2015, she set a new Hour record by cycling 46.273 km in an hour. Van Houweling is also a six-time UCI Amateur Road World Champion, most recently winning the time trial titles at the 2018 UCI World Cycling Tour Final in Varese, Italy.

Palmares

2007 1st Northern California/Nevada Time Trial Championship

2009 1st Northern California/Nevada Time Trial Championship 1st Colorado Time Trial Championship

2010 1st Overall Mt. Hood Cycling Classic 1st Stage 2 1st Overall Kern County Women's Stage Race 1st Overall Topsport Stage 1st Copperopolis Road Race 1st Northern California/Nevada Time Trial Championship 1st Stage 1 Valley of the Sun Stage Race

2011

1st Overall Valley of the Sun Stage Race 1st Stage 1 1st Northern California/Nevada Road Race Championship 1st Northern California/Nevada Time Trial Championship

2012 UCI Masters World Championship (W35-39)

1st Overall Mariposa Women's Stage Race 1st Northern California/Nevada Time Trial Championship 1st Northern California/Nevada Prestige Series

2014 UCI Masters World Championship (W40-44)

1st Northern California/Nevada Time Trial Championship US Hour Record 44.173km

2015 UCI Hour Best Performance (W40-44) 46.088km UCI Hour Record 46.273km UCI Masters World Championship (W40-44)

1st Northern California/Nevada Time Trial Championship

2016 Masters National Track Championships

National Records 40km Time Trial Record (W40-44), 52:48 Individual Pursuit (W40-44), 2:30.613 Kilo (W40-44), 1:16.104

2017 UCI Masters World Track Championships

National Track Championships

2nd Individual Pursuit World Bests UCI Hour Best Performance (W40-44), 47.061km UCI Best Performance 2km Pursuit (W40-44), 2:24.753 National Records Kilo (W40-44), 1:14.772 Team Pursuit (W40-44), 3:48.259

2018 UCI Masters World Road Championship (W45-49)

National Track Championships

2nd Individual Pursuit World Bests UCI Hour Best Performance (W45-49), 46.897km National Records 40km Time Trial Record (W45-49), 55:16.626

2019 National Track Championships

2022 UCI Masters World Road Championship (W45-49) 3rd Time Trial 3rd UCI Masters World Gravel Championship (W45-49)

2023 UCI Masters World Road Championship (W50-54) 2nd Time Trial

UCI Hour record attempts

Date Location Distance (km) Difference to record (m) Notes December 2014 Carson, CA, 44.173 1892 (+) 20px New national record. Beat Carolyn Donnellys 44.028 km distance set in 1990. February 2015 Aguascalientes, 45.637 698 (+) 20px New national record. July 7, 2015 Aguascalientes, 46.088 23 (-) 20px New national record. This attempt also beat the previous UCI hour record of 46.065 km but as Van Houweling was not part of the athletes biological passport programme the attempt did not count. September 12, 2015 Aguascalientes, 46.273 208 (-) 20px 20px Beat the 12-year-old record held by Dutchwoman Leontien van Moorsel. Note, Van Moorsel rode a 'Merckx-style' bike. !! Notes July 15, 2017 Aguascalientes, 47.061 973 (+) 20px 20px New national record and world best performance for Women 40-44, exceeding Van Houweling's own W40-44 record set on July 7, 2015. September 24, 2018 Aguascalientes, 46.897 5,658 (-) 20px 20px New national record and world best performance for Women 45-49, exceeding Lillian Pfluke's W45-49 US and World record set in of 41.239 set in Manchester, England in 2006.

Footnotes