Cancellara Hour Record Attempt

[Merckx11]

I'm going to go waaayyy out on a limb here and suggest he will break the record. Okay, so it's not a very long limb.

 

[ChrisE]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/fabian-cancellara-to-attempt-hour-record

I knew Merckx did 49+, but I was surprised that the marks set in the 60's were only about 2 km/hr slower than the current record....

 

[BroDeal]

With the likes of Boardman, Sosenka, Obree holding the record it has become a bit of a joke. I hope Cancellara crushes both the UCI and best human effort records. The record should be held by someone who is acknowledged to be the best time trialist in the world.

It would be interesting to put a top level pro in a fully faired recumbent. Maybe the position is different enough to require a fair bit of time to adapt to.

 

[Anonymous]

With the likes of Boardman, Sosenka, Obree holding the record it has become a bit of a joke. I hope Cancellara crushes both the UCI and best human effort records. The record should be held by someone who is acknowledged to be the best time trialist in the world.

It would be interesting to put a top level pro in a fully faired recumbent. Maybe the position is different enough to require a fair bit of time to adapt to.

why... its a track event, and to be fair, boardman at the time probably was..
its a very specific event, position is important, physical strength is important, but equally mental strength is important..

cancellera may be the best TTer in the world but does he have mentally what it takes to stare at a peice of planking for an hour..

i think physically and technically he can do it..
mentally... thats the tough bit..

personally i think he will either fail, or completely smash it..

 

[tifosa]

Hot damn, Cance! Show no fear!!

personally i think he will either fail, or completely smash it..

Yes, but at least he's attempting, which is far more than many others have done.

 

[El Imbatido]

Yes, but at least he's attempting, which is far more than many others have done.

Do you boys remember the days when our man with the greatest number of threads to his name in the clinic reakoned he was gonna have a go????

I don't remember it ever happening. So i guess the moral to the story is just because it was brought up in an interview does not mean it will happen. ie. Maybe the interviewer asked Canc about the record and he was just being polite. I guess you could also compare it too how everyone thought Flandis was going to Retirement Village to ride next season just because an interviwer asked LA a question about Flandis

(And no the answer to the question i asked is not blackcat or raceradio)

 

[BroDeal]

why... its a track event, and to be fair, boardman at the time probably was..

It's 1994. Instead of finishing first in the Tour and third in the Giro, Indurain decides to spend his season concentrating on a handful of time trials. He peaks for the World's. Who wins the time trial WC? Boardman or Indurain?

 

[ak-zaaf]

What I don't really understand is why riders are making such a big deal out of this effort while a 50km+ timetrial is nothing unusual?

 

[Merckx11]

Class

The hour record is pure. Pure class.
No outside influences, no wind, no rain, no bad start time, no distractions.
With the U.C.I. equipment limitations in place, it is the best way to compare riders between generations. It is nothing to watch and at the same time it everything to watch. Pain, Power, Mental Discipline and Focus.
I am in awe of any rider that can even have the conversation of attempting a crack at the Hour.

 

[Tapeworm]

What I don't really understand is why riders are making such a big deal out of this effort while a 50km+ timetrial is nothing unusual?

That would be down to the equipment. Much harder to hold 50kph sans aerobars (for the position they allow, rather than the bars themselves), disc wheels, aero frame, aero helmet etc. Hence why the UCI tried to keep it a "pure" record rather than one influenced by technology.

 

[Anonymous]

What I don't really understand is why riders are making such a big deal out of this effort while a 50km+ timetrial is nothing unusual?

get a video of a piece of wooden slat, or veledrome boarding, speed it up, set it to repeat constantly for one hour, sit on your bike, and just stare intently at it.. if you dont go mental after the first 30 minutes i will be surprised, derealisation will kick in by about 45.. you probably wont remember the last 15..

its that mental strength that makes the hour record what it is.. its much much more than physical

actually as a test, put your bike on a trainer, put a poster on the wall four foot in front of you with a black spot on it... focus on that spot, stare at it, imagine yourself inside it, look at it and nothing other than that spot, intently for one hour.. see how you get on...

 

[ak-zaaf]

get a video of a piece of wooden slat, or veledrome boarding, speed it up, set it to repeat constantly for one hour, sit on your bike, and just stare intently at it.. if you dont go mental after the first 30 minutes i will be surprised, derealisation will kick in by about 45.. you probably wont remember the last 15..

Mindnumbing and very physical. Sounds like working in Chinese factory.

But seriously, if you go mental after an hour of what you described there's something seriously wrong with you. An hour, come on.

 

[Anonymous]

Mindnumbing and very physical. Sounds like working in Chinese factory.

But seriously, if you go mental after an hour of what you described there's something seriously wrong with you. An hour, come on.

you never concentrated on something so hard, that you suddenly twitched and thought, crap where was i...???

i used to get it playing this http://20goto10.co.uk/3ddeathchase/index.html on the speccy.. get to about level ten where its nothing but trees, and you brain switches off, you end up driving through trees but not actually know you are doing it..

" The fact that so little progress has been made in this area, though athletic records in so many sports regularly get shattered is a testament not only to Merckx’s dominance of the sport but of the unique challenges, both mental and physical, of the Hour Record: get on the bike, affix your shoes to the pedals, grab the bars, put your head down, and go. For an hour. At about thirty miles an hour." Ken Harris

I seem to remember Merckx said it took 3 years off his life..

 

[ak-zaaf]

I seem to remember Merckx said it took 3 years off his life..

That's all a pitch ;p

Now, I'm not saying it isn't very hard, but there was a time when great riders would regularly attempt it. Now they play it off as if there's a great chance you would be ruined for the next 5 seasons.

You see riders complete broken up after long time trials and only finish third. Why not go just a bit further and try to make history.

I think Sosenka's distance is a possibility for other riders than Cancellara alone. Why not get there before him and get this great discipline back on the map.

Or was Sosenka's meth problem related to the horrors of the hour-record?

 

[python]

i don't think cancellara's attempt on the uci record will be a cake walk. he sure can beat it but smash.?..

i don't know. he's got the power but being a big chap he may not be as aerodynamic w/o the bar extensions.

indurain was his closest physical match (height and body mass) with the similar 500 watts at threshold. unfortunately the excellent padilla study did not elucidate his classic position's wind frontal area. they should be amazingly close.

 

[David Suro]

Does anyone know if a venue or date has been set, or even discussed?

 

[flicker]

Hour

I do beleive Cancellera will smash it. I don't know the current owner of the Hour or the amount Ks. covered but Fabian will break it.
I do hope he gets rid of the goofy facial hair and invests in a proper haircut. Get rid of the Johnny Depp look.
I saw him in Swiss championship jersey and Fabian looks quite queer in his new get up. Hope he looks proper when he blazes the Hour.

 

[Andrichuk]

I do hope he gets rid of the goofy facial hair and invests in a proper haircut. Get rid of the Johnny Depp look.
I saw him in Swiss championship jersey and Fabian looks quite queer in his new get up. Hope he looks proper when he blazes the Hour.

I don't see the problem. Sounds like you would like him queer.

 

[Digger]

With the likes of Boardman, Sosenka, Obree holding the record it has become a bit of a joke. I hope Cancellara crushes both the UCI and best human effort records. The record should be held by someone who is acknowledged to be the best time trialist in the world.

It would be interesting to put a top level pro in a fully faired recumbent. Maybe the position is different enough to require a fair bit of time to adapt to.

To be fair I think you're being a little bit disingenuous there.

 

[python]

I don't see the problem. Sounds like you would like him queer.

easy andri.

some posters may be of female gender and don't feel like advertising it. as we all know this may explain their particularity to a rider's appearance. nothing wrong with that id think. not trying to guess anyone's gender just advocating multiple possibilities.

 

[Cerberus]

I haven't read the original article, but a Danish webpage is carrying the story as well and includes the following quotation from Cancellara "I'm not considering the hour record at this moment". I other words there's nothing new to this story, Cancellara might attempt on the hour record at some point in the future, but no plans are being made.
http://feltet.dk/index.php?id_parent=28&id=28&id_nyhed=22914 (Danish)

 

[karlboss]

I say he never tries. Its not so easy he can jump off the bike a week after the worlds and do it and break it for sure, and like armstrong I don't think he could take the ego hit. He'd need specific prep and I don't think he wants to take the time out from other goals.

I don't doubt that he has thought about it.

 

[Anonymous]

I do beleive Cancellera will smash it. I don't know the current owner of the Hour or the amount Ks. covered but Fabian will break it.

well if you dont know who holds it, who has broken it, how many K's are involved, and i guess nothing about it, then how the blazes do you know that fabian will break it...?

 

[Clemson Cycling]

get a video of a piece of wooden slat, or veledrome boarding, speed it up, set it to repeat constantly for one hour, sit on your bike, and just stare intently at it.. if you dont go mental after the first 30 minutes i will be surprised, derealisation will kick in by about 45.. you probably wont remember the last 15..

its that mental strength that makes the hour record what it is.. its much much more than physical

actually as a test, put your bike on a trainer, put a poster on the wall four foot in front of you with a black spot on it... focus on that spot, stare at it, imagine yourself inside it, look at it and nothing other than that spot, intently for one hour.. see how you get on...

This might be a dumb question but to you have to do it in a velodrome or can you find a flat piece of road and try to make the attempt. Also is the velodrome the only place that gives you a legitimate shot at breaking the record?

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

There's already another thread on this topic in the Track forum. Depending on feedback, I may merge the threads, though this one has been more civil. Link Here.

This topic has come up before, including a poll.

What I don't really understand is why riders are making such a big deal out of this effort while a 50km+ timetrial is nothing unusual?

What you're referring to is with aero gear. The 50km goal is on a track bike, with regular clothing and helmet. The Human Effort record held by Boardman is the aero record, and it's nearly 57km. A very impressive distance, and the pinnacle of Boardman's career.

Sosenka's record is tainted in the eyes of many, as he's failed two doping tests now at different times. Though the record still officially stands.

Obree was going to try for Sosenka's distance again this year, but passed.