The One Hour Record

oneradtec

I didn't know that Lemond ever attempted the hour record.

I wonder if Lance will ever try it...although he isn't a pure TT'er but rather a much more gifted climber than TT'er.

Wonder why no one mentions Graeme Obree. Man what a great story.

gntlmn

I think you're right about Lemond never having attempted it. I remember that he was talking about it at one time, and then I didn't see any results then when he was supposed to have attempted it, which was after the end of the riding season one year. I assumed that he simply had not broken the record. In fact, I don't think he attempted it for one reason or another.

I have websearched for quite a while now after you pointed this out, hoping to come across a record of the attempt, but I could not find one. I did see where he may still hold the record for the fastest time trial in the Tour de France, but I the distance was less than one hour.

velomanct

speaking of high altitude records, Tourant's kilo time of 58.875secs was set at 11,000 ft elevation. i would like to see him break a minute at sea level. big difference.
i think that all records should be attempted at under 1000ft elevation to make it more fair.
if some guy does a 59secs kilo at sea level, he wont have the record but he could have had the record if he was at 11,000ft. kind of seems unfair.

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peshwengi

Funny, with all this talk about Boardman and Merckx... I went today to pick up my new Eddy Merckx Gara (my first ever road bike!). In the shop, (http://www.cyclefit.co.uk/) they have a TT bike which Chris Boardman raced on! You can see it on their website. I got to have a little play with it :-)

gntlmn

Boardman commented that he felt very cramped up on this bike. Did you get that same impression? I wonder if Merckx preferred this geometry for a particular reason. Maybe it wasn't so cramped up feeling for him. I suppose if it is kind of cramped up, there might be less lost power in the flex, if your body can handle it.

I'll bet you wouldn't mind owning the genuine Boardman TT bike. It probably ought to be in a cycling museum, if there is such a thing.

peshwengi

Not really. I mean the bike wasn't the right size for me or anything. But this is one of the older (1996) bikes, and it has streamlined tubes, seatpost, everything.

hemplands

I'm not a follower of track racing, I know what pursuit is but that's about it, the rest can be written on the back of a postage stamp, but I do know there is always something magical/controversial about the hour record. It took me a long time to realise that its done in a velodrome, not over a measure distance.

The first time I noticed it was the battle between Boardman and Obree with the washing machine bike. After that it was the UCI debacle, taking it back to non technical machines ( My view of the UCI is unprintable anyway )

But the record is going to come to the fore soon because Graham Obree is going for it again. I read it in Cycling Weekly this week. I would post the web page details but they haven't got it on the site. I hope he does it, he's one of the nicest ex-cyclists I've met.

gntlmn

Indeed, Mr. Graeme Obree is going to bring thunder to this game again. He will be doing a test on April 4th in Manchester, the same place where Boardman set his record on the Merckx replica. If he does well on that test, he will make an official attempt on the world record shortly after that.

Frankly, I don't think he'll be able to do it. I think that although he is a fine rider and has overcome tremendous adversity, I think that he underestimates his previous advantage of aerodynamics which will not be there when he makes this next attempt. He'll be riding a Merckx this time, not a washing machine.

As for the hour record being done in a velodrome, this is not necessarily the case. It is done on a track, but not necessarily a velodrome. Boardman's was in a velodrome at sea level, but Merckx' was on an outdoor track at elevation in Mexico City. In fact, that's why he had to delay the event for a few days while he waited for the rain to quit.

You may want to read Obree's autobiography which will be coming out soon. This is the latest on Obree http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stor...w/76327/1/.html

limerickman

WWW.CYCLINGNEWS.COM carries an interview with Obree where he discusses his possible attempt at the world record (Thursday news)

maarten

I personally think mister Obree knows very well the are acvantages he has because of the bike. He's the one who designed the record bikes because of that. No for the comfort or the looks pure for speed gain.

But also Its obvious IMO that the new attempt close to the data that his autobiography comes out is the key. Even if he falls short by k's hell get plenty coverage that will make his book sell. Coverage like the one we are giving him now, nice marketing gimmic.

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Fixey

I think we ALL under estimate the eauipment, remember Boardman at the olympics was not considered even an outside chance untill he turned up on the Lotus (anyone have info on that bike btw? I think it is as important as O'bree's W'Machine)

gntlmn

It's called the Lotus Type 108. Here's a couple of pictures:

http://response.jp/issue/2003/0306/...ages/31013.html

http://response.jp/issue/2003/0306/...ages/31012.html

gntlmn

Graeme Obree did a 55'04" in the 25 mile time trial to win a race on Sunday, March 28, 2004 in Carlisle. He was supposed to do a full 60 minute trial run on Sunday, April 4, 2004 at the Manchester Velodrome where Boardman set the record. http://www.thisisthelakedistrict.co...in_business.php

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cycling...1%3A+Sport+news

http://www.veloriders.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9802

The following includes some very interesting background material on Obree. http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,...category_id=363

After he set the world record in the 4 km pursuit at the 1993 World Track Championships in Hamar against Boardman, he coughed up blood every day for 3 months according to his wife Anne. The physiologist at the time, Coggan, said that he had never heard of this happening to a human before, but thoroughbred horses often have this happen after races because the pulmonary blood pressure gets so high during the race that the blood vessels in the lungs burst. So they froth red at the mouth afterwards as they gasp for breath. I guess Obree pushed himself way beyond what most humans are capable of doing. It's interesting the comment about why Obree kept on trying. He said it wasn't about the glory. It was about justifying his own existence. I imagine wondering why would enter your mind so many times, especially with such an excruciating event like the hour. My hat goes off for Mr. Obree. I like the way he defied all and pressed on toward the challenge. I wonder what he has up his sleeve this time.

I don't know how the hour went last night. Apparently it was a closed event and only a test, not an official run. If anyone comes across this info, please post it here.

gntlmn

Now I see that Obree will postpone his attempt on the world hour record until June. His ride at 9 pm Sunday, 4/04/2004, at the Manchester Velodrome, where Chris Boardman broke Eddy Merckx' long standing "purist" hour record, was cut short after several km. He was too far off the pace to break the record and said that he needed to make adjustments to the bicycle. He said he is ready physically and emotionally, but equipment has to be perfect. This was a dry run, not a record attempt.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/sport/13467.html