6/6/15 8:05 PM

how far you think he'll go on sunday?! 55km seems sooooo far in an hour!!!

pure class on the bike, the anti-froomie.

<img src="https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/11150461_10153034904144492_8946708854937585483_n.jpg?oh=40b3c6f08e271eae88c7593a41e53d38&oe=55FABE53">

Last edited by walter on 6/6/15 9:46 PM; edited 1 time in total

6/6/15 8:53 PM

Tony Rominger managed 55.291km for the hour in 1994. And he used the conventional (not superman) position. I think the reason his record isn't recognised under the current rules is that the front and rear wheels were slightly different sizes:



OTOH, he did have Dr Ferrari as his coach at the time, which makes his ride rather suspect.

6/6/15 9:48 PM

rominger's blood had the consistency of honey when he did that 55k hour.

6/7/15 2:13 AM

I still think that Rominger's stage 19 TT win in the 1993 TdF was the most impressive time trial I've ever seen. In spite of being delayed by a puncture, he took over 40 seconds out of Indurain and over a minute and three-quarters out of the next rider. You can watch the TT on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icOhbyx7IzU&hd=1

Just after the 11 minute mark there's a great helicopter shot showing Rominger blowing past Bjarne Riis as though he's standing still...

6/7/15 6:15 AM

silly fast overtake. not long after this is when riis really made a run at the grand tours, improving his "doctoring" along the way.

i forgot how wonky rominger's pedalstroke was -- it's like he had a really exaggerated pull on the up-stroke, like he'd developed his pedaling riding powercranks. antithetical to wiggins souplesse pedaling, honed on the boards.

6/7/15 7:39 AM

Those old bikes were so heavy and wonky. There is so much waste in the designs with bends and metals that aren't needed.

6/7/15 12:51 PM

simple. steel. straight tubes. no fussiness or waste at all.

and a ridiculously big chainring!

6/7/15 1:04 PM

Didn't the UCI rule used to be that the chain ring just had to be smaller than the front wheel?? ;)

Not too surprised he got it done:

Sir Bradley Wiggins smashed Alex Dowsett’s record for distance cycled in an hour, an amazing performance improving the existing mark of 52.937km to 54.526 km

6/7/15 3:35 PM

Shame he didn't take it past the 55.0 km mark. If it weren't for the air pressure,...

6/7/15 5:25 PM

quote:

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Shame he didn't take it past the 55.0 km mark. If it weren't for the air pressure,...

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6/8/15 4:36 AM

...which brings it's own set of issues. Are there actually any high(er) altitude indoor tracks?

I kept hearing references to the atmospheric conditions for Wiggin's attempt without any explanation. What was the issue, high barometric pressure? I did hear one reference to "waiting for rain", which I assume means a low-pressure area.

I'm betting that Tony Martin will beat Wiggo's time by a substantial margin. He's got a bigger engine that's perfectly suited to laying down the power on the flats. Cancellara is similar, but I think he's past his prime.

6/8/15 5:51 AM

Yes, exactly. They were hoping for low pressure, which passed through on Wednesday or Thursday. Pressure in London was actually on the high side yesterday.

6/8/15 6:44 PM

the pressure was quite high, enough so that the Kj he expended would have put him comfortably over 55km for the hour.

$5 says neither martin nor cancellara will take wiggins' record. it's not like they're merckx and regularly spend time on the boards, they're pure roadies -- neither guy has the experience on the boards and will be giving meters away to wiggins every lap by wobbling their way around.

54.526km is 33.8miles...that's f*cking FAST!!!

6/8/15 6:51 PM

quote:

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Are there actually any high(er) altitude indoor tracks?

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6/9/15 5:34 AM

...I'm sure that either Martin or Cancellara can learn to ride the track well enough for a record attempt. It's not as if riding the bottom of the track for an hour requires any special skills, just some solid basics.

6/9/15 6:20 AM

they're at the extremes of human performance. every little bit counts, even wavering above the black line. talk to a track coach, he/she will set you straight.

you seem to think that martin is sooo much faster than wiggins his power will overcome the lack of skill to see him thru to claim the hour. like i said, $5 says neither he nor cancellara will take the record from wiggins. i suspect they dont have the stones to even attempt it!

Last edited by walter on 6/9/15 7:55 AM; edited 1 time in total

6/9/15 7:37 AM

Lets not forget that Wiggo won worlds last year from Martin, so its not like Wiggo is some slouch in road TT's.

6/9/15 3:51 PM

Have a look at the film "The Impossible Hour". The Danish cyclist Ole Ritter was the holder of the hour record before Merckx, and the film is an account of his attempt to get the record back. He beat his previous distance (twice) but didn't ride as far as Merckx.

The film was made by Jorgen Leth, who also made "A Sunday in Hell" and "The Stars and the Watercarriers".

There's a good article about Ritter on Cyclingnews. Compare the lack of fuss and preparation for Ritter's hour record compared to recent hour record attempts: http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/ole-ritter-the-mysterious-hour-record-setter

"In 1968 he went to Mexico City before the Olympic Games, to accompany the Italian amateur cyclists and help them get used to the altitude. Since time on the track was scarce, the Italian team did not want to give Ritter much track time. On the day before the Olympics started, Ritter was allowed to ride in the morning, and he beat the hour record.

6/9/15 4:13 PM

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/wiggins-hour-record-attempt-was-illegal-says-dowsetts-coach

6/10/15 5:44 AM

...you're making a lot of allegations about Martin's lack of ability. For all you or I know, he may have great form on the track. We're not talking about riding a Madison or Keirin, but going around in circles at the bottom of the track. It's not rocket science and it doesn't require years of practice.

6/10/15 6:25 AM

Brian, I think that you are underestimating track experience, it might just be a coincidence but the last 3 record holders (Dennis, Dowsett, Wiggo) all have extensive track backgrounds.

6/10/15 1:12 PM

martin's got a crazy-big engine and I'm a fan, but his track palmares are modest. his most recent track result was back in 2003 when he was german national team pursuit champion, that's 12 years ago! he's a roadie.

it's not rocket-science, but riding the track does require practice and currency to execute properly. riding the track smoothly requires training and muscle memory to smoothly hold the black line when you're got tunnel-vision from turning yourself inside out generating +400 watts for an hour.

try yourself it sometime. get on a pursuit bike with fixed-gear and a fully-committed aero position. try to do 5 laps at your full-on maximum TT effort...see how well you can hold the black line. another $5 says you couldnt do 3 laps w/o committing multiple egregious form/line errors. it's far from easy, particularly when riding at the limit of your physical abilities.