The Hour Record attempt by Jens Voigt (18.09.2014)

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Agreed. To me the Hour Record is the only way to compare cyclists from different eras. I would love to see what Cancellara could do with Merck's setup

You're making the assumption that comparing cyclists over eras is the rationale for the event. It's not.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Never liked Voigt, but at least he had the courage to be first one after the rules change to try the record, he will set a time for better ITTers to beat.

No, he wasn't. The UCI prevented Matt Bottrill from making his attempt. Matt I suspect would have gone better than Jens based on his W/m^2.

 

[yespatterns]

Anyone know martin's track pedigree? Being ignorant of it myself, I'd think Wiggo would be go to for an actual new record. more training, less getting comfy on the track.

 

[Race Radio]

i highly doubt anyone can beat even rominger's 55.200 or whatever, forget boardman. also martin with his cadence is really not suited to the track i guess.

wiggo with his best preparation(probably one year only for this) can get close to 55 km

Good points. Wiggo is a track rider. Jens wasted many watts today. Wiggo would be far more efficient

 

[Le breton]

.....
he will set a time for better ITTers to beat.

Like what?
A 59 minutes hour?

 

[SeriousSam]

You're making the assumption that comparing cyclists over eras is the rationale for the event. It's not.

Well, that's what is actually interesting about it even if, as you said earlier, the winning combination of aerobic output and aero drag talent is arbitrary.

The UCI rationale is probably "reviving an event that sells and grows the sport that makes current cyclists look good and dupes casual fans into believing it allows for era comparisons when actually it doesn't"

 

[hektoren]

Big congrats to Jens! You've proven that you've still got it. Why quit now? (Not thinking of your 24 kids of course).

 

[yespatterns]

Big congrats to Jens! You've proven that you've still got it. Why quit now? (Not thinking of your 24 kids of course).

Please, just let him leave.

 

[forumlurker]

what are the equipment rules now? can you ride a recumbent with a fairing or what?

 

[Hugo87]

No, he wasn't. The UCI prevented Matt Bottrill from making his attempt. Matt I suspect would have gone better than Jens based on his W/m^2.

... first one "allowed" and if it was prevented they had their reasons. Happy now?

Like what?
A 59 minutes hour?

Off course I meant distance, didn't you understand the message?

People are so picky jeez

 

[richwagmn]

Well, that's what is actually interesting about it even if, as you said earlier, the winning combination of aerobic output and aero drag talent is arbitrary.

The UCI rationale is probably "reviving an event that sells and grows the sport that makes current cyclists look good and dupes casual fans into believing it allows for era comparisons when actually it doesn't"

How would even make it valid comparision to Merckx with having the person ride Merckx's bike and wear Merckx's clothes.

Road bikes are more aero today. Clothing is more slippery. Tires roll better. Ceramic bearings waste less watts. And on and on.

There's simply no way to make an exact comparison to Merckx.

Let the sport move on.

 

[richwagmn]

what are the equipment rules now? can you ride a recumbent with a fairing or what?

Or a track legal bike. Big difference.

 

[MonkeyFace]

I would bet Boardman with some training could still beat Voigt. The difference between 51km and 56km is tremendous.

 

[avanti]

I'm not sure what the altitude limits are under the new UCI one-hour rules but Norm Alvis has the USA one-hour track record at 51.505 km set in 1997 at the Colorado Springs velodrome (altitude around 6,000 feet).

 

[DirtyWorks]

How would even make it valid comparision to Merckx with having the person ride Merckx's bike and wear Merckx's clothes.

Road bikes are more aero today. Clothing is more slippery. Tires roll better. Ceramic bearings waste less watts. And on and on.

There's simply no way to make an exact comparison to Merckx.

Let the sport move on.

Except the bike's contribution is almost meaningless from eras in discussion. Disc wheels, TT bars, and getting your position slippery are the leading contributors... And other stuff discussed in the clinic.

 

[MonkeyFace]

How would even make it valid comparision to Merckx with having the person ride Merckx's bike and wear Merckx's clothes.

Road bikes are more aero today. Clothing is more slippery. Tires roll better. Ceramic bearings waste less watts. And on and on.

There's simply no way to make an exact comparison to Merckx.

Let the sport move on.

Most difference are marginal at best. Bearings don't matter much in comparison to air resistances. They had good tires back then so not much of a comparison. Biggest differences are going to be disc wheels, aero helmut, and aero bars. Everything else is a push.

 

[For The World]

As both implicitly and explicitly decreed by the participants of the CyclingNews forum, the following list will provide the standard for all future attempts on the Hour Record:

Rider:

- Leather Hairnet bicycle helmet.
- Wool or Lycra skinsuit with zip on back (no strategic mesh sections allowed).
- No gloves.
- White socks, three inches above the ankle.
- Black Leather cycling shoes.


Bicycle:

- Lugged steel frame w/ horizontal top tube.
- 1in threaded headset.
- Steel or Aluminum drop handlebars.
- Cork or Leather handlebar tape, halfway up bars.
- Seat post with no setback.
- All bearings to be of cup and cone style.
- MKS or Gippiemme pedals, clips and straps.
- Front Wheel is 32 hole low flange hub laced in a radial pattern to low profile, box section aluminum rim.
- Rear Wheel is 32 hole low flange hub laced in 2-cross pattern to low profile, box section aluminum rim.


Location:

- All attempts on the hour record should be made at the velodrome in Mexico City the Merckx record was made to ensure consistency in results.
- If an attempt must be made at an alternative venue, adjustments must be applied to the distance covered to factor in externalities such as altitude, surface material, HVAC systems etc. Only then can the record be ratified.


Exclusions:

- Carbon fibre components (or portions of components).
- Helmets that comply with ANSI/SNELL/AS/NZ standards.
- Glasses of any sort (Contact Lenses are OK).
- Digital timekeeping (analogue stopwatches only).

I think if this immutable list were proffered to the UCI and ratified for all future events, the travesty, this tragedy, that some have described here can be averted in future attempts.

 

[Le breton]

... first one "allowed" and if it was prevented they had their reasons. Happy now?



Off course I meant distance, didn't you understand the message?

People are so picky jeez

Sorry.

Guess I was OFF course in my spacetime continuum.

 

[Red Rick]

There's some dutch dude that's almost 60 years old who's gonna try to brake the record on the first day of the new year, he's got a secret weapen

a gear of 80x14

 

[Jagartrott]

Now let us never speak of this again.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Well, Voigt has his place in history now. I wonder what Martin, Cancellara or Wiggins could do. Hopefully one of them will try next year. Taylor Phinney or Tom Dumoulin might also have a go.

 

[doperhopper]

As both implicitly and explicitly decreed by the participants of the CyclingNews forum, the following list will provide the standard for all future attempts on the Hour Record:

Rider:

- Leather Hairnet bicycle helmet.
- Wool or Lycra skinsuit with zip on back (no strategic mesh sections allowed).
- No gloves.
- White socks, three inches above the ankle.
- Black Leather cycling shoes.


Bicycle:

- Lugged steel frame w/ horizontal top tube.
- 1in threaded headset.
- Steel or Aluminum drop handlebars.
- Cork or Leather handlebar tape, halfway up bars.
- Seat post with no setback.
- All bearings to be of cup and cone style.
- MKS or Gippiemme pedals, clips and straps.
- Front Wheel is 32 hole low flange hub laced in a radial pattern to low profile, box section aluminum rim.
- Rear Wheel is 32 hole low flange hub laced in 2-cross pattern to low profile, box section aluminum rim.


Location:

- All attempts on the hour record should be made at the velodrome in Mexico City the Merckx record was made to ensure consistency in results.
- If an attempt must be made at an alternative venue, adjustments must be applied to the distance covered to factor in externalities such as altitude, surface material, HVAC systems etc. Only then can the record be ratified.


Exclusions:

- Carbon fibre components (or portions of components).
- Helmets that comply with ANSI/SNELL/AS/NZ standards.
- Glasses of any sort (Contact Lenses are OK).
- Digital timekeeping (analogue stopwatches only).

I think if this immutable list were proffered to the UCI and ratified for all future events, the travesty, this tragedy, that some have described here can be averted in future attempts.

to be historically accurate one should not forget clinical aspects (pot belge allowed?), but this requires another forum

 

[Echoes]

So you are unaware that Boardman 2000 was way inferior to Boardman 1996.

In 2000 he only produced about 403 watts to cover his 49.441 km

while in 1996

he needed 442 watts to cover 56.375 km.

In other words, Boardman 1996 would have covered about 51.100 km on a pseudo-Merckx style bike.

I am perfectly aware of it, like I'm aware of the fact he was 4th at the Paris-Nice prologue and at the ITT World Championship that year. It's all I wanted to say.

How does the 1996 attempt on a pseudo-bike translate into a real bike?

Would anybody please stop talking about "Merckx bike", "Merckx rule", etc. It's degrading and a total lack of comprehension of what this record is all about.

If it wasn't for this rule, your friend Anquetil would never have broken any record. For the 36,546th time !!

Most difference are marginal at best. Bearings don't matter much in comparison to air resistances. They had good tires back then so not much of a comparison. Biggest differences are going to be disc wheels, aero helmut, and aero bars. Everything else is a push.

Bravo.

 

[Le breton]

Well, Voigt has his place in history now. I wonder what Martin, Cancellara or Wiggins could do. Hopefully one of them will try next year. Taylor Phinney or Tom Dumoulin might also have a go.

You forget SOSENKA!!!
Very interesting interview
http://sosenka.cz/dix-ans-et-une-heure/

You should be able to find an equivalent article in english.

 

[Red Ace]

Very disappointing that the Hour Record list with the Cyclingnews.com story - Voigt breaks world hour record STORY - does not contain Dr H L Cortis records – Hard to imagine how this amazing Cyclist achievements have forgotten. He set the world hour record in 1882 and then broke it again just before setting sale for Australia where is inspired the forming of the NSWCU with the promotion of the English Union as the model for Australia to follow, he would also form the famous Bathurst Bicycle Club (1884) and assist with running events with that club and the Occidental Bicycle Club, while his appearance at the massive Sydney BC cycling event in 1880s silenced the thousands of spectators as the studied the great man movements. He had pretty much turned his back on the fame to become a doctor in the colony at village of Carcoar but sadly died there in 1885. We have great Cycling History in Australia with Cortis a major figure but sadly we pay it little attention – Cortis should be the on that list in bold type!! How could we forget someone like that - he is one of the most important pioneers in the forming of the sport in Australia