"PRO" Cycling Discussion

[KWalker]

Where did you get his power from?

Really surprised if 402 is correct considering his size and that Boardman supposedly put down 440 at a lighter weight, however, the difference in CRR between Boardman and Voigt's tires could have eaten significant watts on their own.

[spandexboy817]

402 for an hour is very impressive.
I can't wait to see what fabio can avg for an hour in perfect conditions.

All said, it was a great ride and result. I love how everyone is nit=picking his effort. It is hard enough to go 31 mph for 30 seconds on the flats, let alone an hour....

[Tinea Pedis]

I also find it amusing how much Jens' time isn't valid due to advanced tech. Yet LeMond's record TT speed is still 100% current...

[KB]

What Merckx did was mightily impressive especially after I saw an article with Pete Keen. He said Merckx rode the hour 'dumb' by setting off far too fast. He said if he had been in control of the attempt he reckoned Merckx could have done approx 2 k's more. And Boardman did 56k with Superman, yet died a thousand deaths in beating Merckx by a few metres.

[de zwarten]

Jens himself doesn't expect the record to last, but I take my hat off to him for setting a modern benchmark. Anyone else attempting the record now will use similar equipment, so the results will be comparable.
Saying his record isn't worthwhile is like saying current riders times in a TT aren't valid because they use TT bikes, aero helmets, skin suits, shoe covers, wind tunnel tested position on the bike, etc, etc.
Saying Jens doped in the past is irrelevant. So many other riders are clouded by doping allegations, many still riding and winning today. Contador is a prime example. That was then, this is now.

With all of your reasoning, every record set with a UCI-approved bike would still be valid. If we just compare with other guys that used disc wheels and aero bars, the record would be firmly owned by Rominger, and with a big margin.
The top 5 would be:
1. Rominger 55.291 (1994)
2. Indurain 53.040 (1994)
3. Boardman 52.270 (1994)
4. Moser 51.151 (1984)
5. Voigt 51.115 (2014, or 20 and 30 years later, respectively)

The only way to get rid of the never-ending discussion will be when someone breaks the Rominger record (the Boardman record with praying mantis position is debatable), or the Boardman record on a 'normal' bike. Until that time, Voigt's biggest merit is he hopefully initiated a new round of hour record attacks.

[Zitter]

Not to be that guy, but I guess I am. With those previously set times, what kind of doping controls were in place?

[KB]

Going purely from memory, the doping controls started in 1966 in the Tour although the amateur Tour of Britain introduced them in 1965 (professor Arnold Beckett). Anquetil broke the record in 67 but refused to take the dope test so it wasn't ratified. Thereafter, the records of Bracke 67, Ritter 68 and Merckx 72 all had doping controls and thereafter. However, as we've seen, riders can find ways around doping controls. Then you have Moser who had, i understand, blood transfusions. SO, it all starts to get murky.

[djconnel]

Rominger has all but admitted to being on juice (see Millar's book) and you can see Ferrari cheering him on from the sidelines in the video. Same deal with Moser 2, but the 1984 Moser is an interesting question. Blood transfusions, no doubt, which were used by the US Olympic team that year,for example. Voigt rode at 400 meter altitude, as opposed, for example, to Merckx @ Mexico city @ 2200 meter altitude. Boardman was late in his career in 2000 and probably a bit slower than he had been in 1996. Both of Boardman's were in Manchester, though.

I was at the Velodrome yesterday and saw Voigt set the record. It was simply amazing. He started fast, getting avg speed up to approximately 50.813 kph, then throttled back, losing avg speed down into the 50.6x range, but never extrapolated margin on the record (Boardman and Sosenka both faded), then after getting out of the saddle a few times with approx 17 min to go he palpably accelerated, gaining 0.3 - 0.5 sec per 250 meter lap on Sosenka, and his average speed rocketed up to first 50.7, then 50.8 again, then 50,9, then finally 51. The crowd picked up the noise level as the hour came close to finishing, and then when he broke the record, it was all icing on the cake. Finally the gun went off, people cheered, and he finished the lap to get his interpolated distance and there was much celebration and happiness. I couldn't believe how quickly he recovered, although he gave an exagerrated wince and clutched his glut when getting on the single podium.

It was an amazing event. The velodrome is remarkable, right next to the BMC factory, with a surprisingly small number of seats which didn't even sell out in advance (but were close to completely full at the event.

I think comparing Voigt to anyone else is a mistake. He doesn't claim to be at the peak of his career, at the equal of Cancellara or Martin let alone Merckx or Boardman. He just viewed it as a chance to go out in style. And that was a spectacular success.



more photos

[maquisard]

I think comparing Voigt to anyone else is a mistake. He doesn't claim to be at the peak of his career, at the equal of Cancellara or Martin let alone Merckx or Boardman. He just viewed it as a chance to go out in style. And that was a spectacular success.

Very succinctly put

[nathanong87]

at minimum, im impressed that jens committed to it and did it... rather than back in march going out and stirring cyclingnews with the potential of an hour and not attempting it. He said he'd do it, he did it, and laid down a time which is now the carrot for other riders. kudos

[TedStriker]

I think comparing Voigt to anyone else is a mistake. He doesn't claim to be at the peak of his career, at the equal of Cancellara or Martin let alone Merckx or Boardman. He just viewed it as a chance to go out in style. And that was a spectacular success.

Very succinctly put

Seconded

[DanW]

I think comparing Voigt to anyone else is a mistake. He doesn't claim to be at the peak of his career, at the equal of Cancellara or Martin let alone Merckx or Boardman. He just viewed it as a chance to go out in style. And that was a spectacular success.

Well said.

Jens had the opportunity to ride the hour with current rules and still had to ride damn hard to set a new distance. He had quite a real chance of not setting a record despite the bike differences seeing as he isn't exactly young, at his peak or particularly well practiced at this sort of ride. All credit to him for stepping up and nailing it. Watching on Eurosport, I was surprised to get caught up in the excitement when previously I wasn't that bothered so he's generating excitement in the hour again too (at least form my point of view). If that wasn't enough, he paced it perfectly and looked fresh as a daisy by the end. Looked like he'd just finished a charity ride!

[el condor]

Was there too yesterday the cheering was great towards the end. Wnted to mention that the guy (Daniel Gisiger) coaching him and showing his lap times, played an important role in the preparation durich the about 3 weeks where Jens trained on the same track, he himself was a former amateur/u23 world hour record holder and TDF rider, he's currently in charge of the Swiss 4man pursuit team that he's building, he's a great guy and superbe motivator.
I was thinking while I watched-why not have two official world hour record categories, the actual one and the so called "Merckx stile" one, so the athlete chooses what he/she wants.
In a way I understand Fabian, he is a good time trialist but he wants to compare himself with the time...with riders like Merckx etc. and even running the risk that he won't brake the record, which I think is very interesting and I guess there are many other riders out there who would want to do so.
So why not have the two variations?

[KWalker]

Does anyone have a link to the power file? 402w for his weight seems a bit low. Not like I could do it, but I always assumed he would be around the 420-430 mark.

[plpete]

at minimum, im impressed that jens committed to it and did it... rather than back in march going out and stirring cyclingnews with the potential of an hour and not attempting it. He said he'd do it, he did it, and laid down a time which is now the carrot for other riders. kudos

Thank you. I feel like what people are missing in all of this is that Jens did it for himself, his fans and as a last hoorah before he really retires for good. He clearly stated in an interview that he doesn't expect the record to last once other guys attempt the feat and it's something he wanted to accomplish as a personal challenge.

Was there a power meter installed anywhere on the bike?