172km TT for 1931 Worlds

frenchfighter
frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
edited March 2013 in Pro race
Read this in Pedalare! Pedalare! by John Foot and thought it was worth sharing.
In 1931 the cycling authorities decided, in their wisdom, to turn the world championships road race into a mammoth time trial, in which each rider would cycle against the clock. The city chosen to host the first such race was Copenhagen, where the track was 'as flat as a billiard table'.

The remarkable feature of this event was its length. One hundred and seventy-two kilometres for a time trial was a record, and something not seen since, a form of torture given the that the riders would have to cycle on their own, against the win, without company, for the entire distance.

As he rode, Binda became desperate for water and had to stop and knock on someone's door to ask for a drink. Riders weren't even permitted to drink while they cycled. It was said that Binda's eyes were so inflamed at the finish line that he couldn't open them. Many other riders were exhausted, and withdrew altogether.

But this was the perfect scenario for Learco Guerra, who was well known for his ability to keep going at speed for long periods of time. The first racers et off at 7 a.m. on 26 August; Guerra was the twelfth rider to depart. Nobody could live with Learco over such a distance, and he won by more than five minutes from the second-place rider after five hours of pedalling, with Binda some nine minutes behind.

Guerra's feat that day was quite extraordinary, the stuff of legend and never to be repeated (not least because nobody would ever again dare to set such a distance in a time trial). After that victory La Gazzetta dello Sport called Guerra 'the complete champion, an irresistible fighter'. The railway workers who transported Learco back to Italy covered the train with graffiti: 'Long live Guerra world Champion'.

It later turned out that Guerra had removed his gears in order to make his bike lighter. He had ridden all 172 kilometres of the time trial with a fixed gear.
Contador is the Greatest

Comments

  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Nice. Fixed would have given a hell of an advantage on that type of course.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • On_What
    On_What Posts: 516
    Incredible! What a fantastic feat especially on a singlespeed!
  • liquor box
    liquor box Posts: 184
    I have longed for a bigger TT distance. I would love a 100km TT each season, even if it was on the flat.
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    The GP des Nations used to be about 75 kms until a couple of years ago. A shame that has folded

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