The Hour

[TERMINATOR]

rubbish, the hour is a brilliant event and the only major event in the past 20 years we can consider won by clean riders

You are looking at it from a layperson standpoint. From a professional cyclist's standpoint it is a meaningless, stupid event.

There is no prize money, no UCI points. It's meaningless. The best guys suited for it are the top Grand Tour riders, but where in the season would they fit in velodrome workouts? And better yet, WHY would they do it? It's like asking how come Alberto Contador doesn't come to the U.S. and set a new record for the Mt. Washington climb or Mt. Evans.

C'mon, get with it. The hour is a stupid, meaningless event in today's professional peloton. Almost as stupid and meaningless as the world championships held in the winter or whenever the hell they have it these days.

 

[TERMINATOR]

the athletes hour is there for anyone to try. It's the same for everyone. Mercx speaks of it as his hardest race ever. How far could Cancellera go, or is he too scared to try?

No, he's too smart to try. The reason why Eddy Merckx and Chris Boardman did the record is the same reason why both haven't made much money in the sport. They didn't think like businessmen.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

wrong, Boardman was one of the fastest testers ever and gave the record a lot of prestige going into the 2000s. Riders are scared to be embarrassed and that's why they stay away from it

I'm a big Boardman fan, respect what he did, and really enjoyed the Hour documentary.

But your posts in this thread are some of the most embarassing examples of utterly blind fan-boyism this forum has ever seen, and i'm including ACF in that comparison.

Seriously, Cancellara is a long way out in front. He doesn't not try because he's scared. He doesn't try because there are more prestigious things to do, which he is actually paid to do, rather than an academic exercise in arbitrary distance records.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

No, he's too smart to try. The reason why Eddy Merckx and Chris Boardman did the record is the same reason why both haven't made much money in the sport. They didn't think like businessmen.

This is ironic yeah?

http://www.eddymerckx.be/

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/

 

[andy1234]

No, he's too smart to try. The reason why Eddy Merckx and Chris Boardman did the record is the same reason why both haven't made much money in the sport. They didn't think like businessmen.

Merckx and Boardman didn't make much money out of the sport?

You are joking, right?

 

[andy1234]

You are looking at it from a layperson standpoint. From a professional cyclist's standpoint it is a meaningless, stupid event.

There is no prize money, no UCI points. It's meaningless. The best guys suited for it are the top Grand Tour riders, but where in the season would they fit in velodrome workouts? And better yet, WHY would they do it? It's like asking how come Alberto Contador doesn't come to the U.S. and set a new record for the Mt. Washington climb or Mt. Evans.

C'mon, get with it. The hour is a stupid, meaningless event in today's professional peloton. Almost as stupid and meaningless as the world championships held in the winter or whenever the hell they have it these days.

Been following the sport long?

 

[c&cfan]

Been following the sport long?

he is half right, half wrong.

merckx and CB made money after their careers. period.

for cancellara to go there and beat it and really go as hard as he can, it means no ronde and no roubaix plus no tour, or no tour and no worlds. why do that?

that's stupid. tons of riders can do it. even CB could do better.

 

[andy1234]

he is half right, half wrong.

merckx and CB made money after their careers. period.

for cancellara to go there and beat it and really go as hard as he can, it means no ronde and no roubaix plus no tour, or no tour and no worlds. why do that?

that's stupid. tons of riders can do it. even CB could do better.

Do you think Merckx and Boardman got paid in buttons during their riding careers?
Secondly, tons of riders could not break the hour record, clean.
Cancellara is possibly one of a handful who could.

 

[hrotha]

There seems to be this misconception that the road guys could easily beat the track guys if only they put their minds to it. Reminds me of a 1994 interview with LeMond where he talked about how everyone believed they could beat Boardman's record, because hey, he was a nobody (for them roadies), but that they'd be surprised when Boardman beat them at the Tour prologue. Sure enough, later that year Chris showed them.

 

[pmcg76]

Lets face it, the hour record used to have value back in the days but I agree its meaningless now. There are at least probably 20 events riders would prefer to have on their CV before a hour record. Boardman has to be respected for what he done but would Boardman even reach the top 100 riders of all-time. The hour is kind of like the Olympic road race, a sideshow with more importance for those outside the sport.

 

[andy1234]

Lets face it, the hour record used to have value back in the days but I agree its meaningless now. There are at least probably 20 events riders would prefer to have on their CV before a hour record. Boardman has to be respected for what he done but would Boardman even reach the top 100 riders of all-time. The hour is kind of like the Olympic road race, a sideshow with more importance for those outside the sport.

I agree to your point about how relevant it is compared to the past.
There are still very few riders who could beat the record though.

That Merckx bloke was pretty good you know.

 

[spalco]

Merckx and Boardman didn't make much money out of the sport?

You are joking, right?

I actually wouldn't be surprised if Cancellara has more money than both of them combined.

 

[euanli]

Merckx is paid to be the face of the Tour of Qatar and possibly Oman too. He is getting paid no bother about that.

All this needing to plan the season around the Hour Record is rubbish. Boardman set the athletes record weeks after finishing the Tour. Its not like Cancellara will be riding the Schlecks up every mountain in the Tour as soon as the flat stages are done he will soft pedal to the final TT.

 

[riobonito92]

The traditional time to go for the hour record is after the worlds. I don't see how that connects to not being able to ride RVV, Roubaix or even the TdF.

And I don't think loss of prestige is an issue. Who cares that Indurain (or Jeannie Longo) made a failed attempt after the Colombia world's.

 

[saganftw]

i have a handfull of reasons not to do hour...but i would think that besides obvious reasons like fatigue from long season,money issue etc some riders may be afraid of riding on the track and track bike (im not sure what are the rules about bike),i rode on track and it was scary for me (it was concrete velodrome) ,if i were cyclist i d certainly never try to do it

 

[euanli]

The week after the Worlds someone needs to put up money for 1st, 2nd and 3rd fastest times for attempting the Hour record. The type of money that equals the Tour.

The thing with the Hour record is the UCI has it in the rules where only one attempt a day is valid.

Certainly I think the Hour record still has enough prestige where the riders, their teams, media, the fans and sponsors would have a lot of interest in it.

 

[Le breton]

since the authorities have got a bit tougher on doping, has that scared riders off the hour? Boardman, who could still top 3 or 4 in the world TT champs at the end of his career , only did 10 metres more than Mercx. One wonders if riders fear the embarrassment

The Chris Boardman who did 49.441 km was only producing 91% of the power produced by the 56.375 km superman position Chris Boardman (442 watts)Had he been producing 442 watts he would have done about 51.1 km.

Eddy Merckx in Mexico had the advantage of altitude, the disavantage of being outdoor and he ran a truly terrible hour : he started insanely fast, as if he had never done tests at that altitude. When you start a race at such an altitude you feel so good because the air resistance is so much lower. He obviously fell in that trap and ran into oxygen debt early on and of course had to struggle all the way to the finish. Hard to tell what distance he would have covered if he had paced properly, but most likely well above 50 km.

Other things about that Merckx hour , the ignorant people who coached him had him training at sea-level on oxygen-depleted air supposedly to simulate Mexico's altitude. Easy to criticize with hindsight but also hard to believe that in 72(?) everybody was that ignorant. He also did that hour record at the end of a very heavy racing season, not the best of circumstances.

I doubt it very much if Boardman's bike was as unaerodynamic as Merckx. I bet he had less spokes for one thing.

Anyway, if a 91% Boardman could do 49.441 km, there are a few racers out there who can top 50 km at sea-level

 

[Darryl Webster]

The Chris Boardman who did 49.441 km was only producing 91% of the power produced by the 56.375 km superman position Chris Boardman (442 watts)Had he been producing 442 watts he would have done about 51.1 km.

Eddy Merckx in Mexico had the advantage of altitude, the disavantage of being outdoor and he ran a truly terrible hour : he started insanely fast, as if he had never done tests at that altitude. When you start a race at such an altitude you feel so good because the air resistance is so much lower. He obviously fell in that trap and ran into oxygen debt early on and of course had to struggle all the way to the finish. Hard to tell what distance he would have covered if he had paced properly, but most likely well above 50 km.

Other things about that Merckx hour , the ignorant people who coached him had him training at sea-level on oxygen-depleted air supposedly to simulate Mexico's altitude. Easy to criticize with hindsight but also hard to believe that in 72(?) everybody was that ignorant. He also did that hour record at the end of a very heavy racing season, not the best of circumstances.

I doubt it very much if Boardman's bike was as unaerodynamic as Merckx. I bet he had less spokes for one thing.

Anyway, if a 91% Boardman could do 49.441 km, there are a few racers out there who can top 50 km at sea-level

Mercx started so fast because he went for the 10km and 20km records along the way. His power output ( estimated?) was the higest of all hour records. Its also worth remmbering it was at the end of a season in which he`d won the Giro , TDF and 4 classics and had a win rate of 39% in all races he rode that year. Still, by a long way , the greatest hour of them all.

 

[Big Doopie]

truly perplexed by those who seem to think the hour is a "clean" competition.

why would it be?

moser beat merckx by blood doping with ferrari's help.

i can't fathom why anyone couldn't beat boardman also by blood doping. do we really think somehow the uci would catch an hour record competitor who dopes when they can't/or choose not to catch any one who dopes in regular races?

 

[TubularBills]

truly perplexed by those who seem to think the hour is a "clean" competition.

why would it be?

moser beat merckx by blood doping with ferrari's help.

i can't fathom why anyone couldn't beat boardman also by blood doping. do we really think somehow the uci would catch an hour record competitor who dopes when they can't/or choose not to catch any one who dopes in regular races?

+1

If we assume Graeme Obre was absolutely clean? ...and used vision, motivation, intellect and innovation to win.

He is clearly the only 'true' hour champion.

The rest were jacked on uppers, steroids or dope.

A farce. With one exception.

 

[Ferminal]

if he'd destroy the record then why hasn't he tried already? Cause it's hard and shows exactly how close the riders from different eras are. Boardman wasn't much better than Mercx

Read my first post... why would someone who gets paid close to a million dollars for racing classics and the Tour go off and train 6months for the hour record, for no reward? He is a road cyclist, and if any top roadie were to tackle the Hour it would be at the end of their career.

 

[Exroadman24902]

Read my first post... why would someone who gets paid close to a million dollars for racing classics and the Tour go off and train 6months for the hour record, for no reward? He is a road cyclist, and if any top roadie were to tackle the Hour it would be at the end of their career.

I think we don't disagree too much, it would take a considerable commitment to ride over 50km-6 months worth as you mention. He'd smash it perhaps, but with a lot of prep. I think any sponsor would like this event if they thought about it-it's the only thing the gen public can relate to in a sometimes complicated sporrt where everyone looks the same with odd races that get added up by individual time per day over 3 weeks, that you can win without winning any one day or final day, and all those complicted jersey comps, world tour points. How fast can you go 1 a hour? The public get that okay. Over the speed limit! The hour is perfect way to relate the sport to the wider public

 

[Exroadman24902]

Mercx started so fast because he went for the 10km and 20km records along the way. His power output ( estimated?) was the higest of all hour records. Its also worth remmbering it was at the end of a season in which he`d won the Giro , TDF and 4 classics and had a win rate of 39% in all races he rode that year. Still, by a long way , the greatest hour of them all.

..didn't mr obree go twice in one day and not at altitude and drug free. Thought you would like a Brit..but then again, did he smash all your TT records?

 

[DISTRICT 9]

..didn't mr obree go twice in one day and not at altitude and drug free. Thought you would like a Brit..but then again, did he smash all your TT records?

I am sorry. Coppi, Ritter, Merckx did the most incredible hour records irregardless of altitude, number of spokes or aero dynamics.

Clean or unclean, pure class, never to be outdone.
Only if someone could outdo Merckx by 3 km....... never gonna happen...

 

[function]

Mercx started so fast because he went for the 10km and 20km records along the way. His power output ( estimated?) was the higest of all hour records.

There were a number of riders with higher power output than Merckx for the hour record. Check out Padilla et al.