German cyclist Jens Voigt just set a new world hour record, cycling's hardest and most grueling event. In 60 minutes he rode 51.115 kilometers, or about 31.76 miles — an amazing human achievement.
The hour record is cycling's loneliest 60 minutes. It's just you and your bike and a big oval track. You ride as fast as you can, as hard as you can, and as far as you can for an entire hour.
Very few professional cyclists can even think of even attempting to do the hour. It's that hard. It requires super time-trialing ability, perfect fitness, great strength, and complete focus.
Voigt turned 43 on Wednesday and retired from professional cycling after his record ride Thursday. He beat the previous mark of 49.700 kilometers set by Ondrej Sosenka of the Czech Republic in 2005 in Moscow by 1,415 meters, AFP reported.
Here's a recap of the hour:
Voigt carefully walked out onto the velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland, before a big crowd and got on his custom-designed Trek (his main sponsor):
He was super-focused on the enormous effort he'd have to produce:
His coach gave him last-minute advice and encouragement:
Finally, after months of careful planning and training, Voigt set off:
He would average over 51 kph, over 31 mph, for the full hour.
He kept his upper body as still as possible to maximize power transfer to the pedals and maintain his aerodynamics, much like a downhill skier:
All the while his coach was standing by to give him updates on his progress:
As the kilometers ticked away, it became clearer and clearer that Voigt was on his way to setting a new world hour record in cycling. He was riding faster and faster toward the end.
But it was painful in the closing minutes as lactic acid seared his veins:
In the end he did it: He set a new world hour record — pedaling 51.115 kilometers in 60 minutes.
He was ecstatic and blowing kisses to the crowd:
His facial expressions were priceless:
A member of his performance staff immediately took a sample to measure his blood lactate. Cycling Weekly suggested this was done so that the Trek team could use Voigt's performance data to help his teammate Fabian Cancellara, who is widely expected to try to break the hour record sometime in the next year.
Voigt also had an SRM power meter under his saddle. The data it collected — power, heart rate, cadence — could prove critical to the success of Cancellara's hour-record attempt.
After his ride, Voigt told AFP:
"Fifty-one kilometers in a hour! It's a lot more than I had imagined," said the Berliner. "I gave it everything in the last 20 minutes.
"I knew that I still had the energy, that I was ahead of the mark. I felt euphoric — it was the last 20 minutes of my sporting career," he said.
"I was super-motivated. Now I am on the list of all the famous names, I am so proud to join the likes of Merckx, Indurain. It’s fantastic to finish like this," he said.
You can watch a full replay of Voigt's record-breaking hour ride below (the video starts about 27 seconds in).
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