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news
Jens Voigt Hour Record 21 - Jens with bike on shoulder (©Maxime Schmid)Jens Voigt smashes the Hour record in his final challenge
In the final ride of his career, and a day after his 43rd birthday, the hugely popular German rider Jens Voigt has smashed the Hour record, riding 51.115 kilometres at the Velodrome Suisse. He becomes the first man to ride more than 50 kilometres in 60 minutes since Chris Boardman travelled 56.375km using a subsequently banned bike and riding position in 1996. Voigt has also set a benchmark for others - Sir Bradley Wiggins, Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin perhaps among them - to follow.
The Trek Factory Racing rider surpassed the existing record of 49.7 kilometres, set by Ondřej Sosenka in 2005, with a minute and a half seconds remaining. Unlike the previous record holder, Voigt could use up to date equipment following a UCI rule change earlier this year.
That should take nothing away from his achievement. It was an astonishing ride, in which his legs did what they were told and "shut up" for the last time, and one that in all probabilty will usher in a new battle for what has long been the most prestigious record in cycling.
Voigt went out quickly, and rapidly hit the sub-18 second laps he needed if the record were to be his. In the first 20 minutes or so, he was logging around 17.75 seconds per lap, well ahead of schedule, but that drifted out during the second third of his ride, though never exceeding the 18 second average.
Adjusting his position on the bike at times, and even the back of his skinsuit at one point, some might have worried that he had gone out too quickly and was going to pay the price. Such fears were groundless. During the final 20 minutes, his lap times got faster and faster, finally dropping below 17 seconds as the crowd cheered him on.
It remains for others to beat the new record, and it's certain some will have a crack. It's likely that anyone able to finish in the top ten of a time trial at the World Championships would be able to beat it, and easily.
None, though, would be as popular as Voigt, and in making him the first man to attempt it following the rule change, and moreover in the final ride of a career that has won him legions of fans, Trek have pulled off a huge marketing coup.
Next stop for Voigt is the UK - he'll be riding a sportive for charity in the New Forest on Saturday, then appearing at the Cycle Show next week. He - and his record-breaking bike - are bound to be the star attractions.
“I started as usual too fast, but that is just me I can’t control myself, and I realised that I was a second faster on the first lap than on the timetable so I tried to pace myself a little,” said Voigt afterwards. “But I was in good shape, just right.
“I am perfectly fit for this moment, I am in very good shape, and after 20 minutes I had gained one lap but I was still feeling in control. Then from 20-40 minutes I had a comfortable lead and I paced myself and was still gaining a little time.
“Then in the last 20 I sped up a little and gained another lap. The last 10 minutes were flat out - all-in.
“My only thoughts were to not over pace, to focus on holding the black line and to stay aero – no side thoughts. 51.1- yah I am pretty happy.
“The first 10 minutes I could not feel the pedals and thought, ‘oh this is easy!’ Then I went, ‘oooooh, maybe you’d better pace yourself a little bit here.’ Then I went on cruising speed from 20-40 mins.”
“But, he added, “I could feel at that speed I was good, I could hold on to this speed, I am not going to break down or slow down. So I felt in control, and yes indeed I had a little bit of time to enjoy it.”
Trek Factory Racing’s general manager, Luca Guercilena, followed the record-breaking ride from Spain, where the team is preparing for Sunday’s team time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada.
He said: “At the start I was pretty worried because I knew the time schedule and he was fast, but then I was happy when I saw him balancing. I knew that at 40 minutes it was the line where he would either increase or go down and I was super happy to see him increase. It was really impressive to see him do this at the age of 43 – but Jens is Jens.
“It was a really nice way to finish his career with a good performance, and we gave him all our support and this is what he deserved. I am really happy the event went well. We all watched [the Hour Record] from a computer in Spain and I can say it was inspirational, and has given us a boost for Sunday.”
At the trackside to watch Voigt’s historic ride was UCI president Brian Cookson, who said: “It’s absolutely what we thought would happen, to bring the Hour Record back to status in a new era.
“It was pointless to continue the old system, we needed to allow the technology and bring back the magic. It was wonderful! Congratulations to Jens and all the Trek Factory Racing team.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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55 comments
Let's be clear about this - a lovely coda to the career of the eminently likeable Mr Voigt - and let's not forget the PR value for Trek - but comparing this with pre-rule change attempts is pretty much chalk and cheese. All he has effectively done is laid down a decent marker for the likes of Spartacus, Wiggo and Der Panzerwagen to take a crack at. Well ridden though and a nice little PR stunt for all involved.
Given that once upon a time riders used to train hard and specifically for this event (Boardman and Obree dedicated their lives to the challenge - rather than undertaking a full calendar of road races and then a few practise runs), taking into account Jens' age, and having raced through one of the worst periods of doping in history this doesn't 'smell right'. Popular guy, no doubt, but hardly a time trialist extraordinaire.
Boardman and Obree both went faster did they not? They also had to dedicate huge chunks of their time to developing the bikes they were riding, and everyone has said that any decent time triallist will smash Jens' record as soon as they give it a crack.
It's hardly like Jens going off and leathering it for an hour or so on his own would come as a shock to anybody that's ever watched him race.
No, of course not, which is why it'll get beaten, in pretty quick order i'd imagine, by those who are. Not sure exactly what you're getting at Colin, perhaps you could make things clearer, e.g. do you reckon Voigt is a doper ? Is this because he managed to go significantly slower than people who trained for this and used more bikes more dedicated to the task and, if so, can you explain the logic of that ? Just curious.
No, of course not, which is why it'll get beaten, in pretty quick order i'd imagine, by those who are. Not sure exactly what you're getting at Colin, perhaps you could make things clearer, e.g. do you reckon Voigt is a doper ? Is this because he managed to go significantly slower than people who trained for this and used more bikes more dedicated to the task and, if so, can you explain the logic of that ? Just curious.
Boardman and Obree hardly dedicated their 'lives' to the hour record, they were both just extremely talented time-triallists. Boardman typically rode a full pro road race season with an obvious emphasis on TT's and prologues. Obree was different (massive understatement) but, by your logic, he must have been on drugs to narrowly miss the record one day and then the following day attempt the record again and break it; surely no-one could do that without chemical assistance?
I watched the whole hour yesterday and what I saw was a very strong rider who has had some time to specifically train for the record attempt, in a very good aero position, holding a good line, on quite a fast track, riding an extremely well-paced ride. As others have pointed out, this record will be broken by more accomplished TT specialists but Jens's name goes in the record books and deservedly so.
Aye, Irn Bru and Tablet. That gets the job done and undetectable as well.
I don't think you're are applying my logic, you drawn some weird conclusions from your own rhetoric. Jens has worked with and consorted with known dopers throughout his career. His career has been longer than most, and while not glittering, his denials of knowing anything about doping in its 'golden era' sounds as if he protests too much. You probably still think Oscar Pistorius thought his girlfriend was in bed and that he wouldn't kill anyone pumping four raptor bullets into a confined space.
You probably still think JTL was unlucky.
A pleasing end to his career. Well done Jensie.
Is Boardman up for a challenge?
I am Spartacus!
Yeah, yeah, yeah but will it help me get that KOM?
Well done Jens, legend!
Nice Ride by Mr Voigt, and a great way to finish career. Not sure I'd say he "smashed the hour record"..... Ondrej Sosenka was slower, but on a far less aero bike, and if you ask me Mosers 1984 record - slightly faster, was done on what probably was a far less aero machine...
I'm all for new attempts, but i hope the bikes the riders use allow a decent comparison
well done for denigrating his achievement, cha-fucking-peau.
A very real fact: Early onset male osteoporosis is very rare in otherwise fit, active young men. Unless they're regularly (ab)using corticosteroids of course - then osteoporosis is a known and serious risk.
Bit more speculative: Testosterone deficiency is also somewhat odd to hear of in an elite male athlete in a sport where strength counts, unless of course they've been abusing exogenous testosterone so long that they've managed to dampen their body's own production.
Indication of doping... or... the after effects of someone trying to compete in a world full of dopers. You decide.
Low testosterone levels is common enough in endurance athletes... anything over 90mins strenuous exercise has been shown to reduce testosterone levels. Why do you think supplementing testosterone is such an effective method of raising athletic performance in endurance athletes?
As for the corticosteroid allegation... Boardman would need to have been royally raping the drug to get the affect you are talking about. If he was doing so, as many did, he'd have surely displayed other symptoms of such abuse... such as a leanness that defies belief and muscle wastage... neither of which were noted during his racing years.
Not convinced.
Jimmy Ray: Thanks for your post, though I note you tend to be sympathetic to riders here, and trying to explain away accusations. E.g. on JTL you wrote:
“As for his performances in 2011/12, everyone who actually knows the guy, knows he had it in him all the time.”
So, I'm going to take what you say with a pinch of salt.
Would like to see Bradley get the record back for Britain (with or without Scotland)
Chapeau for the most tenuous link to the referendum! Genius!
I'll Get Me Coat,
Fantastic story and ending to a characterful career.
Chapeau Jens!
Unless you have some tangible facts to share, please leave the snide comments out of this.
Well done Jens!
tangible facts:
Sosenka was a doper
Armstrong was a doper
Froome, well, did you *see* that stage?? laughable.
ergo, big Jens beat Boardman, not Sosenka.
As an aside, that was great. And he looked phenomenally fresh at the end of it.
Boardman's old buddy and teammate (as well as an utter legend in his own right). Can think of nobody better to take Boardman's record*
*yes, I know. And it was about as believable as that Texan chap, or Froome on Ventoux.
I believe that when you typed this you either used a non UCI approved keyboard, perhaps a mechanical or some piece of junk that didn't use USB, or that you maliciously and with forethought made use of a font enhancement drug such as coke or god forbid coffee - whatever you did I think anybody in their right mind can see you cheated and ought to be ashamed of yourself for typing such drivel.
great stuff. its also nice that he's signed off with a victory in his own name, rather than in the service of another (or a fruitless escape attempt).
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