UKC

Whoo hoo, can't wait for this one.

http://app.bronto.com/public/?q=preview_message&fn=Link&id=7854jrge...

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In reply to Enty:

Jens Voigt has never made an attempt at the hour record because he could do it in less than 60 minutes. #JensVoigtFacts

In reply to Enty:

No sitting on the fence for him

'Shut up clock!'

In reply to Enty:

Thinking about this, is there a similar level of danger of black holes forming in the fabric of time that people were worried about with the openning ot the LHC?

In reply to Enty:

I reckon he'd go much further if I could just ride in a bloody straight line for once. I do love Jens though. Got far too excited for a grown man when he came past two feet away on a corner below Buttertubs. "Come on Jensie!" Surely got to encourage Spartacus, Wiggo and Martin to step up and stop just talking about it.

In reply to Enty:

What are the rules for the hour now? Since the UCI ruled that you had to use Eddy Merckx's bike everyone has been pretty confused about this... given that the record is under 50km I assume we are still stuck with retro machinery only?

In reply to Oujmik:

I believe that the rules are that you can use the same bikes as currently permitted for the pursuit and other track races - so allowing some but not all of the innovations from the 80s.

Very surprised that Wiggins didn't have a crack at it this summer. I guess he didn't want to attempt it until he could be sure he could break the record, but by the time he gets round to it Tony Martin could have put it out of reach

In reply to Escher:


He seems to have that effect. I saw him on the Col de Manse a couple of Tours back and he lobbed his water bottle and some Australians wrestled it off each other. "Taste that shit man, it tastes of Jensie!!" the winner kept screaming.

In reply to Enty:

That's a lovely blog post

In reply to JJL:


Yeah I thought that too.

E

In reply to Enty:

One can't help but be 99% certain that Jens is a rather marvellous ,and nice chap.

Made in Deutschland from steel and kryptonite with some skin painted on.

Good luck Jens .

In reply to Enty:

Jen's bike

https://twitter.com/BahamontesMag/status/510371052451799041/photo/1

Nice wheels !

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Well, the bike rules for the hour record have certainly changed since Hutch wrote his book about it. Nice touch on the wheels.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

There's a number of details in the paint job:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/photos/exclusive-jens-voigts-hour-record-tr...

In reply to Enty:
Whatever happened to that Obree chap who twice held the record?

In reply to Pids:

Done over by the UCI.

In reply to DaveHK:
He's still pushing the boundaries, and still fast on the bike - for me, the hour record will always be associated with him

In reply to Pids:

Hopefully Jensies effort will spark a flurry of attempts and bring some credibility back to the hour.

In reply to Enty:

Jensie's certainly got the engine for it - but I see his attempt as putting down a marker for Trek and Spartacus. Tony Martin has undoubtedly got the TT pedigree - however Wiggo has probably got a better feel for the boards than the others - and is lightly raced this year.

I think we could be in for a fascinating few months.

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

Mmm, more people seem to have suggested 'having a go at the hour' than actually step up and do it. I must confess to being slightly confused by the bike specification - we must be back to 'what's legal for track racing' rather than the distinctly retro 'Athlete's Hour' gear from the most recent Boardman ride.
http://cdn.mos.bikeradar.com/images/news/2011/07/27/1312189373098-350mbrl93...

In reply to Enty:

I knew there was something important happening on Thursday! Thanks for the reminder

In reply to SteveRi: As Chris said above, the rules changed earlier in the year to allow pursuit compliant bikes to be used. When Cookson came into the UCI he agreed that the 'Athlete's Hour' had basically killed it as an event.

I think it could turn interesting if reignited. I'd be intrigued to see someone like Martin have a go - he's quite a different TTer than Wiggo or Spartacus, preferring to turn a dinner plate rather than spin a smaller gear (like most track riders). I wonder if that would work against him if he started to tire.

It's not quite going to be the event that it once was though, as the Biological Passport rules make it very tricky for any plucky amateurs to give it a shot, as Botrill found out earlier in the year.

In reply to Liam M:

Ah yes, missed that. We could reasonably expect the record to get a shove from someone before too long - nice work Jens getting in there first. Tribute to Boardman that he took it back in 2000. And you can read a bit into it that he only just squeezed past Merckx by 10m turning himself inside out. It's a proper respectable figure given how few people have actually tried after talking about it. You suspect some of the contenders did a bit of testing and skulked off to an easier retirement plan.

In reply to Enty:
Today's the day, good luck Jens!

I knew something important was happening today!

In reply to woolsack:



Are you really excited by this? Like the silly slogans on his bike, is it not just a desperate attempt to stoke up his fans before another athlete's wretched retirement?

In reply to Mike Highbury:

Yes, the hour record has a very prestigious history and it is great that a popular athlete is going for it.

In reply to ClimberEd:

Is it going to be live on the web anywhere?

Cheers

In reply to Enty:

Here's a question - how is the distance measured ? Is it based on the internal diameter of the velodrome, is there a line below which they mustn't drop, or are the measurements taken from the bike itself

In reply to ClimberEd:


This isn't true though is it?

Endless buggering about by the UCI and many dirty records devalue what ought to be a magnificent thing.

Excepting Merckx, Anquetil, Coppi and Baldini, even, we get into some very dodgy territory; Moser, Indurain, Rominger, Sosenka(!!!) and, if you read the book on Obree and Boardman, Boardman's final time stinks, yes really.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

There's a black line on a velodrome track - the length of this is the length of the track (250 metres) so if you ride further up the track you ride further for each lap than if you ride along the line. This black line is fairly close to the bottom of the banked parts so you wouldn't want to ride much below this anyway. I don't know if there's any penalty in the hour record attempt if the rider does drop below this line.

In reply to Mike Highbury:

So the UCI have tried to rejuvenate a notable benchmark by clearing away the detritus. Hopefully this will be the first in a new wave of interest in it - though I'll be quite happy to follow it on twitter than watching it.

In reply to Chris the Tall:


Is not the current record holder Sosenka?

In reply to Bob:

Thanks - I've googled it and it is indeed called the measurement line. But is it the fastest line ? I've only ridden a velodrome a couple of times, but I thought you went slightly faster higher up. So lets say the sprinters (red) line is a metre out, that's an extra 25m per km (2PIx4) if you stick to that line

In reply to Mike Highbury:



Miserable bugger

In reply to the sheep:

Eurosport and if you can get it to work http://www.trekbikes.com/hour_record/

In reply to Chris the Tall:


I think the red line is to separate two sprinters racing side by side to help avoid crashes.

In reply to Mike Highbury:

I believe his bike meet the required criteria, but I guess you are referring to other factors

In reply to Chris the Tall:
Mike is the Bruce Hooker of cycling comment!

Although less wordy.

In reply to Chris the Tall:


You can accelerate faster by dropping down from the banking, but for sustaining a constant pace there is no advantage to being higher up than on the measurement line, but as you identify it makes the distance you ride further. So generally you'll see sprinters or those looking to attack in bunch events staying relatively high until they do accelerate. Pursuiters and those in a paceline when the speed is high and constant will generally be as close to the measurement line as they can reasonably hold, at least until they swing off.

In reply to Mike Highbury:

Given the attitudes prevailing back in the day, it's open to speculation whether Anquetil and Merckx were 'clean'. Amphetamines and caffeine were pretty rife in the Pro Peloton in the 60s and 70's - however their records should certainly be considered valid as they were riding the best equipment available in their day and were competing on as near a level playing field as their contemporaries - as were Indurain, Moser and Rominger.

Obree and Boardman showed what was possible by 'pushing the equipment and technique' envelope - however very few people have the physiology to ride in the exaggerated superman position. The powers that be took the hump that two riders from a traditionally weak cycling nation had been able to dominate the 'blue riband' event, so decided to nullify their records. Furthermore, the degree of specialisation required to ride the Hour was deemed unatractive by many of the biggest names in the sport - as in an increasingly commercialised sport and racing programmes there was little other than Kudos to be gained.

Even so, 'The Hour' has always been seen as a touchstone of cycling excellence, so the sensible decision of the UCI to review its regulations and allow riders to use the same sort of equipment as is permitted for track racing can only be a good thing. The sport is also a lot cleaner than it was, so the Hour can once again be seen as a 'true test'.

I do hope that Jens sets a good mark, and encourages the likes of Spartacus, Wiggo and Tony Martin to test themselves.

In reply to Lord of Starkness:

I agree with a lot of that. The UCI u-turns in the Boardman/Obree era were necessary with hindsight, just very badly handled at the time, looking dangerous close to an anti-Obree vendetta. Excited for Jens' attempt and fair play for him getting in there first. Doubt he'll be the last of the current crop.

In reply to SteveRi:

article here by Obree

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/09/obree-on-the-hour-record-it-is-a-whole-ph...

In reply to Lord of Starkness:


Oh that is such tosh, PEDs do not create a level playing field as the benefits or gains are disproportionate.


Yes, we know all of that but there remains the question, I invite you to look at the data in the book, that Boardman doped for his final time.


Yes and so do all of us but I'm far more interested in whether or not Tony Martin beats Wiggins.

In reply to Mike Highbury:

which book and what data ? Or is it watt data ?

In reply to Enty:

https://twitter.com/Doctor_Hutch

"What did you do while the UK was disintegrating, Daddy?" "I live-tweeted Jens Voigt's hour record attempt."

"Voigt's warm-up compilation (currently on PA) suggests that while he's a superb bike rider, his musical taste is excruciating"

"Spent fully 15 min trying to remember who made the last unsuccessful #HourRecord attempt, just in case I need to know. Realised it was me."

In reply to Enty:

Live stream here which is working.

http://www.frombar.com/20140916/vv54182bfcb710d5.01727518-895216.html

Starts at 6.

In reply to Enty:

20 minutes to go, shut up clock!

In reply to Chris the Tall:


Edward Pickering, The race against time

In reply to woolsack:

Dr Hutch has just tweeted that Jens is two laps up on the record.

In reply to Bob:

Awesome. He won't slow down now.

In reply to Bob:

looking good for it, watching it on eurosport

In reply to woolsack:

In the bag I reckon. He's picking up the pace.

In reply to DaveHK:

Great ride!! Awesome!

In reply to abr1966:

51Km!

From Strava artist - pic.twitter.com/CHP5LC5qYR

In reply to Bob:

I read earlier he had to maintain 370 watts for the whole hour!

In reply to abr1966:


That's far too low

In reply to Mike Highbury:




Sorry, have been offline, others have picked this up. The short answer is no.

In reply to ClimberEd:

It's 4.8 watts / kg. Does seem low.

In reply to The New NickB:


his whole setup looked pretty aero efficient

In reply to woolsack:


Apart from the times he stood up? Don't know how much difference this makes.

In reply to Enty:

Excellent stuff - I expect this will be the main story on the 10 o'clock news

In reply to DaveHK:


he'd have been to distracted by his undercarriage had he not got up to readjust momentarily

In reply to Chris the Tall:



Disgracefully it is second to last item on the bbc sport home page, behind such important items as some football bigwig returning a watch, press conferences from f1 and ryder cup events that havent even started, and about 30 football stories.

In reply to abr1966:


I have friends (light friends, not fat friends) who can do that.... they are damn fast but not hour record material.

In reply to balmybaldwin:
I was surprised at how hard it was to find on the BBC Sport main page, here's a screen shot so you can get an overview of it's significance in the eyes of the BBC...

http://www.vataxaccountancy.co.uk/BBC.jpg

In reply to Richard Carter:

Unless it's the Tour de France to get the cycling "news" on the BBC site you simply go to the "All sports" link at the right of the menu bar and select cycling. The Hour record is currently the lead story.

Not exactly hard to find or certainly no harder than say horse racing.

In reply to Bob:

I get the navigation, the thing I find frustrating is that this is a significant result in a sport that has massively increased in popularity, yet many items above it on the home page are just press conferences on events that haven't even happenned e.g. 4 am bed time before the singapore f1 race says hamilton (so what?)

In reply to balmybaldwin:

F1 & Football are bigger audiences maybe?
<Struggles to care about a perceived slight against the noble sport of cycling and continues to look for classic bikes on ebay>