Voigt breaks world hour record

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German Jens Voigt has become the first rider crack 50 kilometers ridden in the world hour record since the UCI modified the rules earlier this year. Voigt bested the previous mark - set by Ondrej Sosenka on a standard bike without aerodynamic equipment in Moscow on July 19, 2005 - by more than a kilometer.

Voigt rode 51.115km, or more than 204 laps, over the hour on the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen, Switzerland on Thursday night.

The Trek Factory Racing rider called an end to his road career at the USA Pro Challenge in Colorado in August, 2014, but soon announced his attempt at the record. When the day came, the German was more than up to the task.

"I went off a little too fast at the start and I had a bad spell after the halfway mark, but the support of the crowd and knowing that this was my last race meant that I could finish strongly," Voigt said. "I gave everything in the last 20 minutes. I'm really happy with the distance: 51km is more than I imagined. It’s an intense event: there is no downhill, no hiding behind a teammate; it's like a breakaway when you don't want to be caught by the peloton."

The feat was the first since the UCI unified the rules for the hour record in May, allowing the record to be attempted on a bike that meets the current rules for individual pursuit, rather than restricting records to the previous two categories, the hour record, which specified no aerodynamic equipment, and the "best human effort", which allowed upright bicycle frames with certain aerodynamic enhancements.

Before Sosenka, the record was held by Chris Boardman, who set the mark in October, 2000. Boardman still holds the mark for "best human effort", set in September of 1996, when he rode 56.373km in the "superman" position with an aerodynamic frame and a rear disc wheel.

Voigt used a modified version of the Trek Speed Concept frame, with dual disc wheels and standard aero bars to rack up more distance than any rider on a standard bike, even surpassing the first aerodynamic performance of Francesco Moser from Mexico City in 1984.

“I am extremely proud to be joining all the iconic riders that have beaten this record before me," Voigt said.

“I saw Chris Boardman beating the record in 2000 and I said to myself: 'what a great way that would be to finish my career'. 33 years of cycling behind me. This was my last attempt. I'm in so much pain... But what a way to retire!"

The hour record dates back to the early days of the bicycle, but it was made famous in recent history by the long-standing record of Eddy Merckx. Although Merckx's mark of 49.431km held only until Francesco Moser broke 50km in 1984, the UCI retroactively changed the rules in 2000, disallowing all records set that did not adhere to the traditional position and equipment set by Merckx in 1972. Therefore, the efforts of Tony Rominger, Miguel Indurain, Graeme Obree and Moser were all relegated to the "best human effort" category.

In May, 2014, the UCI changed the rules, allowing all records set on equipment that conformed to the UCI rules at the time. Sosenka's 49.7km stood from 2005, although American Colby Pearce went 100m further in 2013, his record was not ratified by the UCI because he was not part of the biological passport programme.

Hour Record Results (* "best human effort", ** previous record, *** to be ratified)