Hour record

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The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. There are several classes of records representing different positions on the relative contributions of the rider and the bicycle design. The most famous hour record is for upright bicycles meeting the technical requirements of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). It is one of the most prestigious records in cycling. Hour-record attempts are made in a velodrome, frequently at high altitudes for the aerodynamic benefit of thinner air.

The first recorded hour record was in 1876 when F. L. Dodds rode 26.508 km (16.471 mi) on a penny-farthing bicycle. In 1972, Eddy Merckx set a record of 49.431 km (30.715 mi) that stood for twelve years, and remains a benchmark for the sport. The UCI record is currently held by Ondřej Sosenka (49.700 km (30.882 mi)).

1 History
2 Trivia
3 Hour records and holders
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Because of the importance of aerodynamics in this event, the hour record has seen some of the most innovative equipment, but this has led to intense debate in the cycling community over the extent to which records should reflect only the skill, strength and stamina of the cyclist, or whether changes in bicycle design should be accepted.

On July 7, 1933, Francis Faure set a record of 45.055 km (27.996 mi) riding an aerodynamic recumbent, but the UCI later rejected the trial in 1934 and barred recumbents from racing.

This led to a division of the sport, and hence two classes of the record. In one branch of the sport, any design of vehicle is allowed, provided that the power only comes from the rider; this is currently administered by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association. In the other, only upright bicycles are permitted as such to preserve the importance of the skill of the rider; this branch is administered by the UCI.

The original UCI specifications were not perfectly watertight and so permitted innovation within their parameters. In January 1984, Francesco Moser set back-to-back hour records, the second being 51.151 km (31.784 mi). This was the first widely noted use of disc wheels in cycling, which provided significant aerodynamic benefit. Moser's record is also disputed for another reason. At the time he was coached by Dr. Francesco Conconi, a known proponent of the use of certain doping methods such as blood transfusions and the use of EPO. Conconi later admitted that Moser had used blood transfusions, which were not banned at the time.

In 1993 and 1994, Graeme Obree, a cyclist noteworthy for building his own bikes, posted two records on bikes that put him in unusual body positions: the former in the "egg" position, with his hands tucked under his chest, and the latter in the "superman" position, with his arms straight out in front. Both of these positions were controversial, and while the records were allowed to stand, those positions were banned from future use. Obree and Chris Boardman entered into a sort of competition in which both made several attempts to top the previous hour record.

Eddy Merckx's 1972 hour record bike

With the increasing gap between the technology that was available and that which prevailed at the time of Eddy Merckx's revered record, the UCI punted on the question of legitimacy by establishing two records: the official UCI Hour Record (which restricts competitors to roughly the same equipment as Merckx) and the unofficial Best Human Effort. Disallowed under the new rules are time trial helmets, disc or tri-spoke wheels, time trial aerodynamic bars, and aerodynamic monocoque frames. All records since 1972, including Chris Boardman's 1996 mark of 56.375 km (35.03 mi) were downgraded to "Best Human Effort." In 2000, Boardman made an attempt on the "UCI Hour Record" riding a more traditional bike, and posted 49.441 km (30.721 mi), topping Merckx's record by the tiny margin of 10 m (32.8 ft) -- an improvement of .02%.

In 2005 Ondřej Sosenka improved Boardman's performance at 49.700 km (30.882 mi) using a 54x13 gearing. At 2 m (6.6 ft) tall, Sosenka used a quite radical positioning of the seat and a relatively small vertical frame height to stay within the UCI regulations. Ondřej Sosenka has posted photographs of his record-winning bicycle and other information in Czech at http://www.sosenka.cz, however due to the arcane internal politics and wrangling of the UCI, this record has yet to be officially verified.

The IHPVA record led to the development of "fully faired" bicycles: recumbent bicycles, low to the ground, completely enclosed in a carbon fibre and kevlar shell that keeps air resistance to a minimum. The current record was set 2006-07-02 by 49-year old Fred Markham, a 1976/80 US Olympic team member, at 85.991 km (53.432 mi) done on the 5.5 mile track at the Nissan Technical Center North America, Casa Grande, Arizona .^[1]^[2] Markham won $18,000 as a share of the $25,000 Dempsey-MacCready One Hour Prize offered to the first HPV to surpass 90 km in one hour. The prize has since expired and its shares awarded to those that had traveled the furthest through July 2, 2006. Markham displaced the previous record by a former Canadian national team cyclist, 32-year old Sam Whittingham, who cycled 84.215 km (52.329 mi) July 31, 2004 on the 4.8 km oval GM/Opel Test Track in Dudenhofen, Germany. Both rode vehicles called "Varnas" designed and built by a Bulgarian sculptor, named George Georgiev, who lives in British Columbia, Canada. ^[3]

[edit] Trivia

The Hour record is usually attempted by famous road cyclists towards the end of their career. This is true of Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain, Francesco Moser, and Chris Boardman, among others. Despite advanced plans and strong rumours, Lance Armstrong never materialized his attempt.

Eddy Merckx said that his hour record attempt was "the hardest ride I have ever done".

Merckx's hour record was set in Mexico City at an altitude of 2300 m (7546 ft).

[edit] Hour records and holders

Hour record-holders and dates: (a) UCI hour record (b) UCI best human effort (c) IHPVA hour record (km)
Date	By	Location	(a)	(b)	(c)
1876	F. L. Dodds		26.508
11 May 1893	Henri Desgrange	Buffalo, Paris	35.325
31 October 1894	Jules Dubois	Buffalo, Paris	38.220
30 July 1897	Oscar Van Den Eynde	Vincennes, Paris	39.240
3 July 1898	Willie Hamilton	Denver, USA	40.781
24 August 1905	Lucien Petit-Breton	Buffalo, Paris	41.110
20 June 1907	Marcel Berthet	Paris	41.520
22 August 1912	Oscar Egg	Paris	42.122
7 August 1913	Marcel Berthet	Paris	42.741
21 August 1913	Oscar Egg	Paris	43.525
20 September 1913	Marcel Berthet	Paris	43.775
18 August 1914	Oscar Egg	Paris	44.247
25 August 1933	Jan Van Hout	Roermond	44.588
18 November 1933	Marcel Berthet	France			49.99
28 September 1933	Maurice Richard	Sint-Truiden, Belgium	44.777
31 October 1935	Giuseppe Olmo	Vigorelli, Milan	45.090
14 October 1936	Maurice Richard	Vigorelli, Milan	45.325
29 September 1937	Frans Slaats	Vigorelli, Milan	45.485
3 November 1937	Maurice Archambaud	Vigorelli, Milan	45.767
1938	Francois Faure	France			50.53
7 November 1942	Fausto Coppi	Vigorelli, Milan	45.798
29 June 1956	Jacques Anquetil	Vigorelli, Milan	46.159
19 September 1956	Ercole Baldini	Vigorelli, Milan	46.394
18 September 1957	Roger Rivière	Vigorelli, Milan	46.923
23 September 1959	Roger Rivière	Vigorelli, Milan	47.347
30 October 1967	Ferdi Bracke	Olympic Velodrome, Rome	48.093
10 October 1968	Ole Ritter	Mexico City	48.653
25 October 1972	Eddy Merckx	Mexico City	49.431
5 May 1979	Ron Skarin	Ontario, Cal. USA			51.31
4 May 1980	Eric Edwards	Ontario, Cal. USA			59.45
19 January 1984	Francesco Moser	Mexico City		50.808
23 January 1984	Francesco Moser	Mexico City		51.151
29 September 1984	Fred Markham	Indianapolis, USA			60.35
10 September 1985	Richard Crane	England			66.30
28 August 1986	Fred Markham	Vancouver, Canada			67.01
15 September 1989	Fred Markham	Adrian, USA			73.00
8 September 1990	Pat Kinch	Bedfordshire, England			75.57
17 July 1993	Graeme Obree	Hamar, Norway		51.596
23 July 1993	Chris Boardman	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		52.270
27 April 1994	Graeme Obree	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		52.713
2 September 1994	Miguel Indurain	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		53.040
22 October 1994	Tony Rominger	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		53.832
5 November 1994	Tony Rominger	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		55.291
27 July 1996	Lars Teutenberg	Munich, Germany			78.04
7 September 1996	Chris Boardman	Manchester, UK		56.375
29 July 1998	Sam Whittingham	Blainville, Canada			79.136
7 August 1999	Lars Teutenberg	Dudenhofen, Germany			81.158
27 October 2000	Chris Boardman	Manchester, UK	49.441
27 July 2002	Lars Teutenberg	Dudenhofen, Germany			82.60
19 November 2003	Sam Whittingham	Uvalde, Texas			83.71
31 July 2004	Sam Whittingham	Dudenhofen, Germany			84.215
19 July 2005	Ondřej Sosenka	Moscow, Russia	49.700
02 July 2006	Fred Markham	Casa Grande, Arizona			85.991