Episode 11
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The Hour
record,
One of the
greatest ever records! This used to be a truly prestige’s achievement, yet it has also seemed to have
passes in to the dusty records and is only ever thought about by the few and
the mad.
For those of
you who haven’t heard of this record then I am sorry because you have missed
some truly epic battles to lay claim to this record.
The idea of
this is very simple. You ride a bike around a track from a standing start and
cover as much distance as possible in 1 hour…. That’s right just 60 minutes,
that is only 3600 seconds of riding. It just about sounds easy. This is my
favourite record in cycling, it is so simple and yet so hard!
Now for a
little history,
The first
recorded record was in 1876 when the American Frank Dodds rode 26.508 km
(16.471 mi) on a penny-farthing. 26.5 km isn’t that far until you think about
doing it on a Penny-farthing!
And from
there the record crept up till 1914 to a distance of 44.247 by Oscar Egg.
At this
point HPV’s became involved. HPV stands for Human Powered Vehicles or recumbent
bikes. These do have some big advantages over “normal” bikes, yet they do
deserve to have their own record and a incredible fast once at that. I will do
a podcast on HPV, their hour record and Battle Mountain.
Back to
bikes, up until 1972, all the big names tried this record, it was a really important
thing to have on your list of results. Here are some of the big names that held
this record. Giuseppe Olmo, Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil.
Then in 1972
the Cannibal went for the record! On a standard track bike, spoked wheels and a
huge motor…. Eddy Merckx made his record attempt in Mexico city (the track is
at attitude) and rode himself once more into the history books setting the
distance of 49.431 km. And I must say that is a dame long way in one hour on a
normal steel track bike.
This record
stood for 12 year! 12 years! Wow…. 12 years!
Merckx
record was finally broken by the great Francesco Moser in 1984, yet this was
also the start of the technogy war on the record. Moser rode 50.808 and then 4
days later 51.151km. All this was also done on the Mexico city track. Moser
used a bike will bull horns and Disk wheels, this started to give him an aero
dynamic advantage. It also started the talk about was technology racing or the
rider!
Mosers
record stood for 9 years! Moser and Merckx are 2 truly outstanding athletes and
they did this at a time when everyone wanted this record.
Yet now
comes what I believe is the most interesting few years of this Record. It all
seems to start with Graeme Obree, (yes the last podcast got me thinking all
about this record) A unique Scotsman, with a ingénues mind and a talent for
riding.
Graeme was
an unknown rider from Scotland and was very fast in local races. He also
dreamed of the hour record. He didn’t have huge sponsors (or really any), His
business a local bike shop was going under (from what I heard from Graeme
because of a business partner doing the dirty on him). He also had a great idea
on how to make a bike more aerodynamic, so he built it. It was famous that he
used parts from a washing machine to build his bike. And it is true… well at
least a bearing. He used the main bearing from a washing machine for the Bottom
braket bearing, this was because he could build a bike with the pedals closer
together.
Anyway, he
was slowly getting ready for the record and the Famous British rider Chris
Boardman announced he was going for it. On the wind tunnel tested carbon
machine… The Lotus.
This made
Graeme step up his effort and organised a track and go for the record. He
rented the track for 24 hours and on 16th of July 1993 he made his
attempt at the record and failed. Some of what follows I heard in a talk given
by Graeme many years ago, so it is from the horses mouth and held in my memory,
any part that is not exact I am sorry.
Graeme said
that he would try again the following morning….. That’s right the following
morning. Graeme had 2 choices for the night. 1 sleep well and wake up
refreshed, yet stiff and the gas tank empty or 2. Wake up every couple of hours
stretch, eat cornflakes and be a tired the next day. He chose option 2. And to
make sure he got up he drank huge amounts of water because he knew the bladder
is the best alarm clock in the world.
So he turned
up at the track the next morning got on Old faithful (his self hand built bike)
and rode himself to the world hour record. A distance of 51.596. In the talk I
went to, When asked why he had got up and tried the record the next day Graeme
replyed “Financal necessity. All his sponsors only paid out on success, and he
was about to go under”!
Sadly this
outstanding record only stood for 6 days and was beaten by just under 700m by Chris
Boardman. Chris Boradman’s effort as huge and these 2 riders and rivals really
set fire to the hour record.
Chris and
Graeme raced each other in the Pursuit World Championships 1993 Graeme won,
Chris in 1994 and Graeme again in 1995!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc24LVK_UH4
Graeme
reclaimed the Hour record in April 1994 at a distance of 52.713 and later that
year at the world Pursuit Championships
were where the UCI really started changing rules moment by moment and they all
seemed to be targeted at Graeme Obree, First his seat didn’t meet requirements
when a couple of days before it did, so he cut it down, so it fitted the rules,
that didn’t pass. So in the end he used a BMX seat from a kids bike. Once into
the finals they UCI said that the Praying mantis position that Graeme had was
illegal and his hands couldn’t touch his hands. Graeme tried not hold to this
rule, yet was disqualified in what I believe is one of the dark moments in the
UCI’s history. A side note here Moser did set the Veteran hour record using
Graeme Obree’s praying mantis position. So this was not just a one man thing.
So Graeme
went away and come up with the Superman position! Now this position would
change the world! Even though other riders were using Funny bikes (smaller
front wheel) and flash carbon fibre machines, still Graeme’s superman was
faster on his old faithful.
After this
1995 world title everyone started to use the superman. And with it broke
records, Pursuit records and of course the Hour record.
Graeme never
held the hour record for long, at least this time it was more than 6 days, Step
in 5 time tour de France winner Miguel Indurain. In September 1994 he lifted
Obree’s distance by 327 metres to a grand distance of 53.040 km.
A month and
a half later Indurain’s greatest rival Tony Rominger stepped up and posted
53.832 km. Yet even with this massive distance he wasn’t happy and know he
could do more so a month later he was at it again and smashed his own record!
Rominger’s new record was 55.291 km.
So in the
space of a year and a half the record was broken 6 times! And lifted from 51.151
to 55.291. that may only be 4 km’s yet riding at that sort of speed for an hour
is amazing!
Now the
record had to wait for 2 year, And Chris Broadman was back… and ready to do
some damage. Using the superman and every bit of go fast stuff he could he rode
once again into the history books, covering 56.375 km.
What he didn’t
know was this ride and the distance he set may never change. The UCI then declared
Boardman’s effort was going to be called the “Best Human effort” and bikes
would have to conform to new standards (or old standards depends how you see
it). These are your bike has to be like Eddy’s bike, steel frame and spoked
wheels, and all sorts of other stuff. You are only allowed to use the technology
Eddy had. This to me was the death nail for the record, suddenly no company
really wants to be involved as they cannot show off the latest go fast stuff
and you cannot push the limits of thinking and design. True the event becomes
more pure, the athlete against the clock, yet why not both records?
Now with the
record back at Eddy Merckx’s 1972
distance 49.431 km. So in one sweep the UCI cleared away 25 years of amazing
history! Good Guys UCI!
Now I had
said early on at what an outstanding record this was! And Eddy Merckx to my
mind is the best rider of all time, so to beat that record with no aerodynamic
help would be massive. And in 2000 just such a person stepped on the track. A
man that knows how to suffer and has held the hour record, that’s right Chris
Boardman had another go and manages to break the record, yet only just…. In fact,
it had to be worked out on count back and was by just 10 metres! Now the record
was 49.441. so in 28 years we managed ten metres on Eddy. Wow…. Eddy you rock!
Now for me
comes a very dark and sad event. On the 19th of July 2005 the record
was broken by Ondřej Sosenka. I think it was great the record was broken, yet
Sosenka had been suspected of doping, infact he was excluded from the 2001 peace
race after failing a hematocrit test prior to the event. Then in 2008 testing
positive, this calls into doubt (rightly or wrongly) his effort. The event also
the breaking of the record went very much in noticed and it is a shame that
such a super record has fallen away.
It is also
an event you can’t just go a do, so riders who today could do it, have to
choose between money and a record. What would you do?
Many people
have announced they try for the record and some have tried and failed, other
haven’t got that far. It is one I would love to try, yet the work and the pain
involved is amazing, maybe one day…. Yet even the thought of riding at over
50km/h for an hour is madness and it will take away more talented rider than me
to even come close. I think I could do the first record… But not on a Penny
Farthing.
I have read
that Fabian Cancellara is thinking about giving it a go, or some are saying he
will do it after the spring classics. Man that would be great! There is even
talk about Tony Martin going for it. And maybe just maybe one of these guys
could break the record and reignite the spark of interest in the hour record. And
just think of a back and forth like that of Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman!
How fantastic would that be! It is an event so full of history and truly one of
the hardest monuments in cycling.
I do have to
ask why is it the UCI, seems hell bent on killing the ingenuity of man, and the
evolution of the bicycle? So many of the awesome events seem to be slowly
going. The hour record, the 100km team time trial, the 4km pursuit. Next cobble
stones won’t be allowed. Yet for so long they turned a blind eye to so much.
I say let’s
have both records, one for the guy that thinks he can and one for the guy with
great legs and a lot of sport science behind him! Bring back the Lotus and the
funny bikes and put the excitement back into something that is and should be so
very awesome!
Ok and thank
you for listening. Feedback, comments and whatever can be sent to info@cams-world.de. And remember please
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