The hour record

Paul 8v

I've been out of the scene for a little while but whilst looking through Wikipedia it reminded me of the days when Boardman, Obree and Indurain all went for the hour record, it seemed to be quite a big thing before that too with a lot of the top tour riders trying for the record. Has it just fallen out of fashion now or is there some other reason why the current crop of riders don't seem to be going for it?

richa

Could money be a factor these days? Who is going to fund, say, Wiggins the time to prepare / undertake a crack at the record. Not commercial for Sky (?) and no Olympic Gold for BC. Or should he take 6mths out of his career / unpaid to have a go at the record?

Paul 8v

Yeah I suppose so, mind you I suppose it depends how it was funded and built up, was it ever televised? Surely it would attract a large audience now the general public have realised there are more sports to watch than football? Wiggins has the tour, Olympic Gold, surely the record could be another target?

zippy483

I was seriously going to post about this, as I logged in

Not sure watching a bloke ride around in circles would be great tv, but Isn't Brad's TT pace close to the pace needed to beat the hour record what are we talking I'm thinking 56Km off the top of my head , so that being the case maybe 6 months out wouldn't be needed maybe a few weeks of Practice so to speak and then Bobs your mothers brother

Paul 8v

I think he's quite capable of breaking it to be honest, would be good to see.

oldwelshman

zippy483 wrote:

I was seriously going to post about this, as I logged in

Not sure watching a bloke ride around in circles would be great tv, but Isn't Brad's TT pace close to the pace needed to beat the hour record what are we talking I'm thinking 56Km off the top of my head , so that being the case maybe 6 months out wouldn't be needed maybe a few weeks of Practice so to speak and then Bobs your mothers brother

Can't compare the pace as it is totally diffeent event. On the track you only have the one fixed gear, its not easy to break and needs specific training, Wiggo is capable of trying it for sure.

usedtobefast

and of course he'd have to go for the athletes hour now for an official record, meaning no aero aids so this will reduce the kph for the same power output, making a comparison even less meaningful. If any organisation knows about the benefit in watts of every bit of equipment it's BC and therefore what power is required to better the hour and in turn how far Brad is away from doing this.

A cyclist going for the hour has a lot to lose, in terms of damage to their reputation and body(I think it was Merckyx that reckoned he'd taken 5 years off his life going for the record) with little to gain but kudos mainly from the cycling fraternity. This probably goes some way to explain why riders haven't been attempting the hour for a number of years.

liquor box

I think Merckx also said it was the hardest ride he ever did

Pross

I reckon Wiggins will go for it as his swan song before retiring.

oldwelshman

Pross wrote:

I reckon Wiggins will go for it as his swan song before retiring.

I dont think he will bother? Whats the point? With the uci regs on it and not much to gain not sure why anyone would bother. He would much rather try to win another GT. I think he will try to get both Giro and Vuelta in next couple of years. His swan sone may be at next olympics if he can do it.

d4evr

I'd say the thought of failing puts a lot of riders off!

Pross

usedtobefast wrote:

and of course he'd have to go for the athletes hour now for an official record, meaning no aero aids so this will reduce the kph for the same power output, making a comparison even less meaningful. If any organisation knows about the benefit in watts of every bit of equipment it's BC and therefore what power is required to better the hour and in turn how far Brad is away from doing this.

A cyclist going for the hour has a lot to lose, in terms of damage to their reputation and body(I think it was Merckyx that reckoned he'd taken 5 years off his life going for the record) with little to gain but kudos mainly from the cycling fraternity. This probably goes some way to explain why riders haven't been attempting the hour for a number of years.

I've never really understood that, I'm not sure how riding full gas around a velodrome for an hour is significantly different physically to riding an hour at your maximum in a road time trial. Obviously there are differences technically such as being restricted to a single gear and the pace being much more constant but physically they are both an hour at your maximum sustainable effort surely?

oldwelshman

Its the number of times you have to do these almost max efforts on the track. On the road you just do TT regularly so its same prep, on the track on a different gear different set up, very dry atmosphere, its very specfic. Dont foeget in prep for tt you just go at yopur pace, going for a timed record you constantly have to push harder and ride to schedules to monitor how close your getting and whether you can actually try for it. Would take quite a bit of training before even trying it, cannot just roll up and try it.

Daz555

oldwelshman wrote:

His swan sone may be at next olympics if he can do it.

I agree. Wiggins and Cav in the men's team pursuit in Beijing?

Wiggins will smash it but Cav will have to work insanely hard to make the four.

oldwelshman

Daz555 wrote:

oldwelshman wrote:

His swan sone may be at next olympics if he can do it.

I agree. Wiggins and Cav in the men's team pursuit in Beijing?

Wiggins will smash it but Cav will have to work insanely hard to make the four.

I meant wiggo in the TT not pursuit, I dont think either wiggo or cav will make pursuit then.

liquor box

Pross wrote:

usedtobefast wrote:

and of course he'd have to go for the athletes hour now for an official record, meaning no aero aids so this will reduce the kph for the same power output, making a comparison even less meaningful. If any organisation knows about the benefit in watts of every bit of equipment it's BC and therefore what power is required to better the hour and in turn how far Brad is away from doing this.

A cyclist going for the hour has a lot to lose, in terms of damage to their reputation and body(I think it was Merckyx that reckoned he'd taken 5 years off his life going for the record) with little to gain but kudos mainly from the cycling fraternity. This probably goes some way to explain why riders haven't been attempting the hour for a number of years.

I've never really understood that, I'm not sure how riding full gas around a velodrome for an hour is significantly different physically to riding an hour at your maximum in a road time trial. Obviously there are differences technically such as being restricted to a single gear and the pace being much more constant but physically they are both an hour at your maximum sustainable effort surely?

I dont think they carry liquids for the hour attempt, I dont know if it is not allowed but I have never seen them drink so maybe this is what is hard?

markrulesok

i think it'd be unlikely to see, like others said the audience isn't big enough to see a fella wizz round an oval for an hour.

speaking as someone who likes track cycling (but as of yet never tried it) the sprints, and especially the keirin are my faveourite. short, sharp, exciting.

Daz555

markrulesok wrote:

i think it'd be unlikely to see, like others said the audience isn't big enough to see a fella wizz round an oval for an hour.

Boardmans "last hour" had a packed house and Wiggins right now would fill any velodrome.

Pross

Daz555 wrote:

markrulesok wrote:

i think it'd be unlikely to see, like others said the audience isn't big enough to see a fella wizz round an oval for an hour.

Boardmans "last hour" had a packed house and Wiggins right now would fill any velodrome.

I think it would also get a decent television audience in this country. Even a lay person can understand the concept of seeing how far you can ride in an hour and it would be pretty exciting having the splits on each lap if he was running close to them. People also know who he is.

markrulesok

Pross wrote:

Daz555 wrote:

markrulesok wrote:

i think it'd be unlikely to see, like others said the audience isn't big enough to see a fella wizz round an oval for an hour.

Boardmans "last hour" had a packed house and Wiggins right now would fill any velodrome.

I think it would also get a decent television audience in this country. Even a lay person can understand the concept of seeing how far you can ride in an hour and it would be pretty exciting having the splits on each lap if he was running close to them. People also know who he is.

thats true. i suppose an hour isn't really that long to tune in for, the point about wiggins is very valid too, and what with the olympics going off well a velodrome isn't an alien sight to the general public anymore...

ok you convinced me!

jscl

A certain rider has been down at the Manc Velodrome this morning practicing in preparation for taking on the hour record. Not a Cav or a Wiggo however, because they are otherwise pre-occupied with the TOB

Trev The Rev

The only reason the big names don't have a crack at the Athletes Hour is because they know they would fall well short.

Anyone who thought he could beat it would give it a try. Do you rally think an ego like Armstrong wouldn't have done it if he could?

I hope Wiggins is man enough to try.

Seeing as the top pros spend most of their working life riding a road bike rather than a time trial bike they have no excuse to avoid making an attempt.

Truth is, take the drugs, the aerodynamic equipment and the blood bags away from the modern pro and they fall well short of Boardman.

liquor box

If the graphics were up to date and they could sho his progress compared to other attempts then is would be awesome viewing provided he was within a few seconds of the record.

I wonder if you could add a digital Boardman and Obree on the track to have him in a virtual race?

lawrences

he would get really dizzy.

colinsmith123

liquor box wrote:

I wonder if you could add a digital Boardman and Obree on the track to have him in a virtual race?

Similarly I've wondered whether it would be possible to have something akin to a speed control LED rope light embedded between the track and the Cote D'Azur to act as a pace virtual rider for training purposes.

jscl

For those of you who didn't know, Boardmans hour record has now been beaten at the MCR velodrome. It was attempted yesterday morning - timed to coincide with the world masters due to the need for UCI officials to be present (which they are) - so, who'll be next?