{"id":3460,"date":"2013-12-28T09:14:17","date_gmt":"2013-12-28T09:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankpunk.com\/?p=3460"},"modified":"2013-12-27T09:19:37","modified_gmt":"2013-12-27T09:19:37","slug":"cancellara-rekindles-the-romance-of-the-hour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/12\/28\/cancellara-rekindles-the-romance-of-the-hour\/","title":{"rendered":"Cancellara rekindles the romance of The Hour"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>by crankpunk. this article originally appeared on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theroar.com.au\/2013\/12\/27\/cancellara-brings-romance-back-with-hour-attempt\/\">The Roar.<\/a><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWhat there is is a bike, black line, a track, and a clock.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Graeme Obree<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly risky, because there\u2019s no second place. You either win \u2013 or you lose.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Chris Boardman<\/p>\n<p>Officially known as \u2018The World Hour Record\u2019, it\u2019s better known among aficionados as the Hour.<\/p>\n<p>Though the Hour is still one of the few hallowed benchmarks in professional cycling, there was once a time when this record was challenged at fairly regular intervals, by the big names of the sport, bringing to it a romance and stature that has been missing in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>That the Hour was seen as a test to be taken on only by the true strong men of the peloton as they neared the end of their careers tells you something of the difficulty of the task of riding absolutely flat out for a full 60 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>On the 25th of October, 1972, the legendary Eddy Merckx set constructed Colnago bike. Such was the importance awarded the effort that Ernest Colnago himself flew to Mexico City to be Merckx\u2019s mechanic, overseeing the bike\u2019s preparation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gmx.com\/dereferrer\/?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DFrbIcRbAZBE&amp;lang=en\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FrbIcRbAZBE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Merckx\u2019s record saw many a rider come and have a bash at it, but it stood almost 12 years, until Francesco Moser toppled it in 1984, by over 1.5km.<\/p>\n<p>Moser though was using bullhorn handlebar, steel airfoil tubing, disk wheels and skinsuit, while Merckx, riding in an earlier era, didn\u2019t have access to such technologically advanced materials.<\/p>\n<p>It is partly these advances in equipment that have led to the Hour Record losing some of its appeal, as detractors of recent attempts have criticised the use of anything other than a traditional steel frame and drop bars, as used by Merckx.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Y2yyKopuetc?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=ja&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The most famous of the innovators were both British, Graeme Obree from Scotland and Chris Boardman from England.<\/p>\n<p>Obree looked to the bike for his advantages, building his own machine from scrap metal to take the record on the 17th of July, 1993.<\/p>\n<p>Boardman, though he had a state of the art bike, was renowned for employing a full team of bike boffins and training gurus, proving to be a few years ahead of his time in his approach.<\/p>\n<p>Incredibly, he then took the Hour record just one week later, by a mere 274 meters (52.270km).<\/p>\n<p>The UCI redefined an hour record set on any kind of upright bike, irrespective of equipment, as the UCI Best Human Effort, but the UCI Hour Record remains the true benchmark, and disallows time trial helmets, disc or tri-spoke wheels, aerodynamic bars and monocoque frames.<\/p>\n<p>This record, held originally by Merckx, lasted from that Mexico ride in 1972 until 2000, when Boardman rode it and beat it by a slender 70 meters \u2013 putting into real perspective just how fast Merckx was.<\/p>\n<p>In 2005 Ondrej Sosenka bettered that effort at 49.700m, but as a result of two positive doping tests in his career, the result is tarnished.<\/p>\n<p>And so we come to Cancellara. If anyone can have a real go at Boardman\u2019s \u2013 and Sosenka\u2019s \u2013 times, it is the big Swiss. And in having a go he is reigniting the romance that once existed between the Hour and cycling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s for sure, this year,\u201d his general manager Luca Guercilena said. \u201cHe has the hour record in his legs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have two windows where he\u2019ll have a peak in form, the two weeks after Paris-Roubaix or after the Tour de France,\u201d Guercilena added.<\/p>\n<p>If Cancellara is in a form similar to last year at Roubaix then he will have a real chance of taking the Hour, adding this illustrious record to his already stunning palmares.<\/p>\n<p>And with it, he could entice other hard men from the pro ranks to get their wheels on the track.<\/p>\n<p>Cancellara\u2019s team is already in preparation for the attempt.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-five people \u2013 15 from Trek bicycles, engineers and biomechanics, and 10 from the team \u2013 are working on the record,\u201d Guercilena said. \u201cWe are trying to make the bike and wheels faster while staying in the UCI\u2019s rules. You need time for this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And so modern technology should still give Cancellara an advantage, but little in relation to what materials are available for road and time trial bikes these days.<\/p>\n<p>It is still, essentially, man against the clock, in a thrilling, compelling and pulsating battle.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by crankpunk. this article originally appeared on The Roar. &nbsp; \u201cWhat there is is a bike, black line, a track, and a clock.\u201d \u2013 Graeme Obree \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly risky, because there\u2019s no second place. You either win \u2013 or you lose.\u201d \u2013 Chris Boardman Officially known as \u2018The World Hour Record\u2019, it\u2019s better known among aficionados as the Hour. Though the Hour is still one of the few hallowed benchmarks in professional cycling, there was once a time when this record was challenged at fairly regular intervals, by the big names of the sport, bringing to it a romance and stature that has been missing in recent years. That the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40955418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wpupg_custom_link":[],"wpupg_custom_link_behaviour":[],"wpupg_custom_link_nofollow":[],"wpupg_custom_image":[],"wpupg_custom_image_id":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Cancellara rekindles the romance of The Hour","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6730,1149],"tags":[4853031,4880181,1466479,3864608,33121,171736,11525617],"class_list":["post-3460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bikes","category-videos","tag-cancellara","tag-chris-boardman","tag-eddy-merckx","tag-graeme-obree","tag-moser","tag-the-hour","tag-world-hour-record"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2OfoS-TO","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3206,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/12\/04\/kickstarter-campaign-to-help-fund-graeme-obree-film\/","url_meta":{"origin":3460,"position":0},"title":"kickstarter campaign to help fund Graeme Obree film","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"12\u6708 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"as many of you may have noticed, i have always had enormous respect and admiration for Mr. Graeme Obree, for what he represents as a human being as much as what he does on two wheels. he and his mad bike caught my imagination in a way nothing else really\u2026","rel":"","context":"bikes","block_context":{"text":"bikes","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/bikes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/1175437_320177468118777_545681193_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/1175437_320177468118777_545681193_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/1175437_320177468118777_545681193_n.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/1175437_320177468118777_545681193_n.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4201,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2014\/05\/20\/the-hour-the-uci-and-how-to-up-something-so-beautiful-in-one-easy-step\/","url_meta":{"origin":3460,"position":1},"title":"The Hour, the UCI, and how to **** up something so beautiful in one easy step","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"5\u6708 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It has just been confirmed that the UCI have imposed a new range of criteria on those who seek to break the hour record. The governing body is now demanding all potential candidates for the hour record must ride a traditional steel-track frame and commit to a year-long diet of\u2026","rel":"","context":"history of cycling","block_context":{"text":"history of cycling","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/history-of-cycling\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/b10_2206564_evenepoel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/b10_2206564_evenepoel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/b10_2206564_evenepoel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/b10_2206564_evenepoel.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3022,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/11\/18\/the-wondferful-mr-graeme-obree\/","url_meta":{"origin":3460,"position":2},"title":"the wonderful Mr Graeme Obree","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"11\u6708 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"'this is the embodiment of everything i am - no rules, no regulations... this is a form of artistic expression... the remit is to go and enthuse people to go and have a go at something... don't sit about, cos you're going to die... i am inspired by the fact\u2026","rel":"","context":"bikes","block_context":{"text":"bikes","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/bikes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/screen-shot-2013-11-18-at-e4b88be58d8812-41-16.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/screen-shot-2013-11-18-at-e4b88be58d8812-41-16.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/screen-shot-2013-11-18-at-e4b88be58d8812-41-16.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1233,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2012\/12\/11\/training-time-trialing\/","url_meta":{"origin":3460,"position":3},"title":"training: time trialing","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"12\u6708 11, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"crankpunk loves time trialing and being in a two or three man break, loves the burn in the thighs and the constant, steady beat of the pedals. i actually dislike riding on the flat though, for one reason - i find it mind-numbing - it just so happens that this\u2026","rel":"","context":"training","block_context":{"text":"training","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/training\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Graeme Obree in acton","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/images.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3353,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/12\/12\/graeme-obree-kickstarter-fund-goal-achieved\/","url_meta":{"origin":3460,"position":4},"title":"Graeme Obree Kickstarter fund &#8211; goal achieved!","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"12\u6708 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"yep, great news, the Kickstarter appeal that Journey Pictures started to find the\u00a020,000 GBP needed to complete post-production on their film The Oustider: Graeme Obree, has been successful! with three days to go, the goal was reached and ba-da-bing, we will be seeing this fantastic film in 2014! cheers to\u2026","rel":"","context":"random stuff","block_context":{"text":"random stuff","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/random-stuff\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/screen-shot-2013-12-12-at-e4b88be58d884-29-48.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/screen-shot-2013-12-12-at-e4b88be58d884-29-48.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/screen-shot-2013-12-12-at-e4b88be58d884-29-48.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/screen-shot-2013-12-12-at-e4b88be58d884-29-48.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3320,"url":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/2013\/12\/10\/a-chat-with-graeme-obree\/","url_meta":{"origin":3460,"position":5},"title":"a chat with Graeme Obree","author":"Lee Rodgers","date":"12\u6708 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I was lucky enough to get hold of Graeme Obree back in 2013 for a chat, and it was that good, I'm re-posting... After helping to get the word out about the new film about Graeme Obree's attempt at the world land speed record that is [was] currently in post-production\u2026","rel":"","context":"bikes","block_context":{"text":"bikes","link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/bikes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/screen-shot-2019-11-26-at-14.52.21.png?fit=1164%2C790&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/screen-shot-2019-11-26-at-14.52.21.png?fit=1164%2C790&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/screen-shot-2019-11-26-at-14.52.21.png?fit=1164%2C790&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/screen-shot-2019-11-26-at-14.52.21.png?fit=1164%2C790&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/crankpunk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/screen-shot-2019-11-26-at-14.52.21.png?fit=1164%2C790&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Lee Rodgers","author_link":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/author\/crankpunk\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/bikes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">bikes<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/category\/videos\/\" rel=\"category tag\">videos<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"by crankpunk. this article originally appeared on The Roar. &nbsp; \u201cWhat there is is a bike, black line, a track, and a clock.\u201d \u2013 Graeme Obree \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly risky, because there\u2019s no second place. You either win \u2013 or you lose.\u201d \u2013 Chris Boardman Officially known as \u2018The World Hour Record\u2019, it\u2019s better known among&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40955418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3460"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3463,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3460\/revisions\/3463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crankpunk.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}