Hour Record Rules Revisted/Revised

[TShame]

Clancy and Thomas? Not a chance.

 

[blackcat]

Clancy and Thomas? Not a chance.

would have said the same thing about Wiggins when he was sucking @rse back in 2007 6 and 5 with Cofidis, FDJ, CA, High Road. The guy could not even win tts and prologues on the road.

 

[TShame]

Wiggins has been a rocket on the track.
The record is about power and endurance, not popularity.
When did Clancy or Thomas win a long time trial last?

Now back to the record.

It was estimated Jens Voigt averaged 414 watts during his hour.

Brandle (by my estimates) did 429 watts.
(basically assuming an average rider size since I have no details)

On that basis:

444 watts will bring you to 52.56
460 watts yields 53.28
475 watts and you can hit 54.00

This is why I feel a few riders can near 53 but only the wattage of a very few could hit 54 without heading to high altitude. Moser's guess of 56 is a bit ridiculous to me.

 

[TShame]

By watts, only Wiggins, Cancellara, and Martin can keep the record.
But, if anyone can ride at high altitude, they will have a huge head start.

Well, Dekker has made it official that he will go to high altitude in Mexico, apparently this spring. I knew he planned on an attempt, but wasn't sure of him making it official. If he is capable of matching the current record, that would put him near 54 kilometers. That means, Wiggins and others may be forced to follow.

As for Spartacus, the word is that he really only wanted to attempt to do 50 or more km looking at the old Merckx/Boardman/Sosenska record for the old-styled bike.

Jack Bobridge 1/31

Dennis Rohan 2/8

Alex Dowsett 2/27

Thomas Dekker ??

Bradley Wiggins ??

 

[SteveFish]

Will the hour record attempts fizzle out again?

It's great to see a flurry of interest in the hour record again.
However, I suspect this interest to dwindle to virtually nothing again when the likes of Wiggins hit the track in June with some phenomenal distance.
the hour record is such an indication of true performance, that it would be a shame to see this happen.

Inspired by Strava's introduction of the year's best times for segments, I think it would be a great idea for the UCI to sponsor an annual award for the year's best hour record attempt.
It might well reveal new talent too.
Of course, the overall record would still be the ultimate goal, but if you fail, with a good distance for the year, why not get some recognition? A bit like an annual World Hour Record Championship... season's best distance, etc...
...I'm prepared to be blasted: tin hats on!

 

[TShame]

record attempts are pretty costly.
sponsors don't want to back a 'third best' choice either.

 

[twothirds]

record attempts are pretty costly.
sponsors don't want to back a 'third best' choice either.

They need not be. If they're so expensive, how did Graeme Obree pull off his first one?

 

[TShame]

Specialized was the sponsor.
There were some figures posted when Hoy made his attempt.
You have to pay all of the officials including hotel and travel expenses, velodrome fees, team costs, airfare, etc. I think it was 50,000 to 100,000 US including a week of training Hoy did at my velodrome before the crew flew to Columbia.

Adding it onto a UCI event saves money.

Obree did his double attempt within 24 hours because the officials were flying out at noon. So his second attempt after the failed attempt was at 9 am. He attributed his failure to the new bike and that his sponsor forced him to prove his pace by doing a 40 minute session at record pace that left him tired out. The record was pure adrenalin, hatred and fear.

 

[OffTheBackAdam]

Sartacus is geting cold feet.

 

[samhocking]

Obree did his double attempt within 24 hours because the officials were flying out at noon. So his second attempt after the failed attempt was at 9 am. He attributed his failure to the new bike and that his sponsor forced him to prove his pace by doing a 40 minute session at record pace that left him tired out. The record was pure adrenalin, hatred and fear.

He woke up every hour during the night to down a pint of water and a bowl of corn flakes to re-fuel in time for the next attempt. Just a great story and amazing to ride it twice in 24 hours like he did.

 

[TShame]

Alex Dowsett Cancels

Jack Bobridge 1/31

Dennis Rohan 2/8

Alex Dowsett Cancelled

Sarah Storey 2/28

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Alex Dowsett Cancelled

cancelled or postponed?

 

[TShame]

possibly rescheduled. I think it will be tough with his schedule of races. Also, he will have to compare his speed against whatever the current record will be in a month or two.

I just realized that Jack B's attempt should be 3am Saturday Eastern USA time.

 

[avanti]

Jack didn't make it with 51.3 km (but got the Aussie record). Nice try. I wonder if the track altitude made a difference.

 

[TShame]

It was interesting.
I thought he started off too fast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gib8TVFbPRA

Now, Rohan should be scared. I love it. The hour is the Beast.

 

[Captain Serious]

yep, it looks like he started too fast

https://twitter.com/xavierdisley

 

[winkybiker]

Apparently he was gutted after the attempt. Seems a harsh punishment.

 

[TShame]

Yep, the easiest way to kill yourself is to go over your redline at the start.
As soon as he broke 53 in the beginning, he was done.
Better pacing comes from greater preparation.
You can't simply run a few time trials on the road, suit up, and head to the track.
I wonder how much prep. Rohan is doing?
I had a lot of confidence in Jack.
Pity he'll probably never attempt it again.

 

[TShame]

Jack's lap times. Awesome start...but why did the coach keep asking him to go faster? The pace was way too fast, 53.5 at one point. Impossible.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Jack's lap times. Awesome start...but why did the coach keep asking him to go faster? The pace was way too fast, 53.5 at one point. Impossible.

That is not an awesome start. It was a disastrous start.

>54.5km/h for first rolling 5km. 40+W higher than necessary and going 40W over threshold for that long is never going to end well. His power in latter stages when he was averaging 49.5km/h would be nearly 100W less.

 

[42x16ss]

Wow, terrible start. Hopefully Bobridge looks back and sees how much he can improve simply through better pacing. Looking at the chart posted earlier, it seems that Voigt, who is probably the weakest of the three, paced himself the best. I guess it comes down to experience.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Wow, terrible start. Hopefully Bobridge looks back and sees how much he can improve simply through better pacing. Looking at the chart posted earlier, it seems that Voigt, who is probably the weakest of the three, paced himself the best. I guess it comes down to experience.

Voigt had an easier challenge and could afford to be very conservative at the start since he was targeting a low mark. Once it was clear he was going to beat the record and was feeling in control, he was then able to up the effort and see what he could squeeze out.

That sort of pacing strategy is fine for that scenario, and at least he had a good strategy and executed it well but if he was trying to beat a mark of say 51km, then he could not have afforded to be so conservative. His pacing was not optimal from the perspective of attaining the maximal distance he was capable of.

Of the three "new rule" attempts so far, Brandle's pacing was much closer to optimal.

 

[The Hegelian]

I reckon the fast start was part of the Bobridge strategy - with Dennis et al to follow, they weren't trying to simply break the record, they were trying to set something that would endure/prove bloody hard to break. i.e. 53-54'ish.

The fact that he couldn't sustain it does make you wonder what made them think he could. He must have been pushing out some great numbers in preparation.....

 

[TShame]

I don't think most coaches know how to specifically train for the hour attempt.
Otherwise, Jack's coach would have known the proper sustainable pace and slowed him down. The hour is a very difficult mental task. Going faster does not bring the finish any sooner, only more painful. The fear of blowing and failing is ever present. Jack should have done some hour rides (maybe at 50 kph) and a number of 20 minute intervals at 51-52 kph in preparation. Eddie did a number of hour rides motorpacing at 49-50 kph, which seems like a good idea as well.

It all boils down to weeks of preparation and setting the right pace. Mathias did very well. His hard time was from 16k-40k, which is normal when pushing to one's limit. I think one's pace should be sustained for the first 30 minutes rather than 20, then the reduced pace for 10-20 minutes, finishing off with an increased pace.

Riding an hour attempt on the trainer is great mental preparation. About eight weeks training is necessary in my opinion.

 

[TShame]

here is my calculated wattage for Jack B's attempt.

Avg watts around 425 (probably a little less based on his size)

However, first ten kilometers avg 474 (with first 7k at 495 at 54 kph.)
An amazing 11:12 10k compared to Indurain's 11:20 (at 500 for 53kph - big man and not as aero in his position)

The only ones capable of this power for an entire hour are Wiggins and Martin.

Looking forward to Rohan this Sunday.