Photography by Trek Factory Racing

What you need to know about Jens Voigt’s attempt at the hour record

by CyclingTips

Jens Voigt might have retired from professional racing but "The Jensie", never one to shy away from an hour of pain, has one last gift for his legion of fans. On Thursday afternoon (early Friday morning Australian time) Voigt will attempt to beat the world hour record, challenging the current mark of 49.7km, set by Ondrej Sosenka in 2005. Here's what you need to know about Voigt's attempt.

The basics

Jens Voigt’s attempt at the hour record will take place at the Vélodrome Suisse in Grenchen, a municipality in the north west of Switzerland. The clock will start at 7pm local time (3am on Friday morning AEST) with Voigt hopping off his bike an hour later, hopefully with a new record.

The record

As mentioned, the mark for Jens Voigt to beat this Thursday is 49.7km, set by Czech rider Ondrej Sosenka in Russia in 2005. Sosenka’s career was marred by two positive tests for banned substances, casting some doubt on the legitimacy of his hour record.

The rules for the hour record changed in May this year when the UCI announced that any future attempts would be bound by the regulations governing endurance track bikes, equipment and position at the time of the event.

“Today there is a general consensus that equipment used in competition must be allowed to benefit from technological evolution where pertinent”, UCI president Brian Cookson said at the time. “This kind of evolution is positive for cycling generally and for the Hour record in particular. This record will regain its attraction for both the athletes and cycling fans.”

Between 2000 and the UCI announcement of May this year, riders attempting the hour were required to use bikes similar to that used by Eddy Merckx when he set his record of 49.431km in 1972.

Several riders have gone beyond Sosenka’s mark of 49.7km including Graeme O’Bree and Chris Boardmann whose records don’t stand as they were used on equipment not currently allowed under UCI rules.

Clarifying the rules in May this year, the UCI said via press release:

“

According to the regulation in force from today, all successful attempts on the hour that respected the rules applicable at the time the record in question was achieved are considered “Hour records.” In the light of the current regulation, the records to be beaten today are those established by Ondrej Sosenka (49 km 700) for men and Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (46 km 065) for women, as these two athletes beat the Hour record using equipment which is still within the regulations currently applicable to track endurance events.

Paving the way

In recent years there’s been plenty of talk about the sport’s time trial specialists having a tilt at the hour record, with Fabian Cancellara, Bradley Wiggins and Tony Martin all rumoured to be preparing for an attempt.

The early months of 2014 were particularly full of rumours about upcoming attempts, especially from four-time world ITT champion Fabian Cancellara. But the UCI’s revision to the rules saw Cancellara’s proposed attempt put on hold with no revised date set. Indeed, since the rule change, no-one has attempted to break the hour record, giving Voigt an opportunity.

“Maybe my attempt could kick off a new round of hour-record attempts”, Voigt said in a Trek Factory Racing press release. “I could establish a mark for everyone to give it a try. Make a bridge, you know.”

“I can pave the way for [riders like Fabian Cancellara]. I have no illusion to keep the record once Fabian and other specialists start having a go. But I kind of like the idea of telling my grand children about it, when they sit on my lap when I’m 75.”

The bike

Voigt has reportedly been working with Trek since June on a bike for his attempt at the hour record. Voigt will use a modified version of Trek’s Speed Concept 9 Series TT bike which features altered rear dropouts to feature a wider track wheel hub, custom rear cogs to work with a Shimano 9000 series road crankset, and the replacement of the integrated brakes with “carbon filler”.

While it doesn’t appear Voigt has chosen his gearing for the event yet, a 54×14 setup could be an option. By contrast, Ondrej Sosenska used a 54×13 to set the current record, Chris Boardman used a 54×13 in 2000, while back in 1972, Eddy Merckx used a 52×14 setup in Mexico (at altitude), about which he later said:

“My 52X14 was plenty big for me. For five or six kilometres it didn’t pose a problem, but for a whole hour it was very much otherwise.”

The bike also features an hour record-themed paint scheme with the wheels painted to look like clock faces. Voigt’s status as the ‘Chuck Norris of cycling’ is referenced in two quotes on the bike — the top tube reads “Jens Voigt can beat the 1 hour record in under 60 minutes” and the downtube reads “Jens Voigt doesn’t normally ride in velodromes, because he doesn’t like to lap himself.”

See below for some images of the bike Voigt will use on Thursday.

Watching the event

Eurosport will be broadcasting the attempt live, with coverage starting from 2.30am AEST, half an hour ahead of the attempt itself. Alternatively you can see it here.

There will almost certainly be commentary of the event happening on Twitter as well, with Trek Factory Racing suggesting fans use the hashtag #HourRecord.

And if you happen to be in Switzerland at the time, tickets are still available to watch the attempt live.

Bravo

Awesome to see “I am mother f#cking Jens Voigt” on the top tube
jules

i love Jensie but he is going a bit crazy with the “I’m still here” routine at the moment.
- Dave
  
  Think how bad it will be when TV Tommy gets even closer to the end of his career.
- grayson
  
  It’s not unusual for a pro to attempt the hour record at the end or right after retirement of their road racing career.
  - MMaster
    
    based on the number of attempts in the last 30 yrs, I think you meant it’s highly unusual…
    - woodsy
      
      Why is it odd…. age allows for a bigger engine and the last tour he road in he was sending it off the front. Just because he has ‘retired’ doesn’t rob him of the K’s he has done through the season, specially then break away efforts!!!
echidna_sg

As much as I admire the guy and his never say die attitude to racing, the ongoing upward trend of his fan worshiping is getting silly - often by the same people who once worshipped lance but would now see him drawn and quartered.

Sacrilegious statement: I find it absurd to read his claims of not knowing of any doping at CSC or elsewhere… The guy spent 4 years racing for the east german army at a time when all the other east german sports people were *ahem* quite a bit bigger/faster/stronger than anyone else for now obvious reasons.
- Allez Rouleur
  
  Good on ya for writing this. As much as I like his personality, I do find it problematic how many folks adore Voigt and choose to completely overlook the fact that he dismisses doping and says he never saw anything. Yeah right.
  
  I’m a fan of how he races and his interviews, but I’m not a blind fan. I’d like to see him be more honest about what he saw and knew.
  
  That said, this should be fun. And damn, if I was in Switzerland, I’d be there! Still tickets to grab…oh boy.
  - echidna_sg
    
    guess that bit will come once the fanfare has dies down a bit and Trek doesn’t have its publicity machine in warp overdrive. Hands down this is the biggest publicity stunt any cycling brand has managed in years! pages and pages of magazine coverage, internet forums, live tv (seriously?) seeing it live would be fun, but its unlikely to come down to the final 100m…
  - woodsy
    
    Lets be totally upfront on the doping scene, How can any faith be had in guys winning pro tours…. best example would be contadoor at the tour of spain last week…. broken leg to winning in 6 weeks…..
- pcs
  
  Agree. Jens might just be the luckiest guy in Pro cycling.
  
  Not to say he doesn’t deserve it.
James Fifield

Is it just me, or does the cockpit look substantially different to his previous TT position? The extensions especially.
- Chris Carpenter
  
  I read somewhere over the last few months he has been adapting his position on the TT bars.
  - Adrian S
    
    I read that he is tall enough to warrant the longer extensions - maybe 6’3″ or something?
Chris Carpenter

Is it me or does the front disc look like it’s in less than perfect condition? There a couple of depressions which I can’t imagine will help with aerodynamics. Plus that H U G E gap between the rear wheel and seat tube, again not very aerodynamic. If there ever was a situation where you want absolute perfection in aerodynamics it’s the hour record.
- Echidna_sg
  
  It’s called trek - a team with no profile and no big winners this year needs some marketing wins… Welcome to the stage a “persona” - cancellara and Co only have themselves to blame.
  - Rob Storey
    
    Didnt they win the Tour Of Flanders?
- thsker
  
  The huge gap probably is related to him having not selected his gearing, so once he picks that they can remove a couple links and slide the wheel forward on the horizontal dropouts.
  - Marc Evans
    
    Wouldn’t he have messed about with ratios and chosen it by now? He’d need a fair bit of training on his chosen ratio to get used to his preferred cadence/av. speed right surely. I suppose these promo pics could have been taken a few months back though…
    - thsker
      
      One would think, I just based my comment off the article where they said he hadn’t settled on his gearing yet.
- Paul Jakma
  
  It looks like a disc cover over a normal wheel, a bit like Aerojacket. If you look closely, in addition to the depressions, you can see a seam running from the centre out to rim at the 40 minute position which strongly suggests it’s a fitted cover. Weird, but I guess Trek/Bontrager don’t make disc wheels.
  - donncha
    
    That’s probably the seam for the watch design decal.
  - MMaster
    
    That’s a decal applied over the disc wheel… looks like a set of Mavic Comete track discs…well used at that…
    - Paul Jakma
      
      Ah, more likely, yes. :)
    - Dave
      
      They are Shimano disc wheels, apparently.
- Dave
  
  The huge gap is because this is a modified road time trial bike, not a proper track bike.
Jan

“Jens Voigt can beat the 1 hour record in under 60 minutes” on the top tube? Pretty stupid, because thats what the whole thing is about.
- Johnson
  
  Whoosh!
Guest

The Jens Voigt Soundboard for those who can’t get enough: http://teamjva.com/jens-voigt-soundboard/ | Wonder what phrases will needed to be added after the attempt?
http://conza.tumblr.com/ Conza

The Jens Voigt Soundboard for those who can’t get enough: http://teamjva.com/jens-voigt-soundboard/ | I wonder what phrases will need to be added after the attempt?
LastMile

Why are there 72 “minutes” on the wheels’ clock graphic?
- Michele
  
  I’m guessing, because this whole exercise is a bit of a ‘rush job’. Don’t think it has been thought through thoroughly. Errors like this, the covers on the wheels, not being sure of the gearing Jens will use, all give testimony to this point.
  
  Will Jens break the record? I doubt it.
  
  But despite the rushed feel to it all, despite Jens probably not breaking the record, the event will be a qualified success. Because the major stakeholders, i.e. Trek - will get bountiful coverage; win, lose or draw.
TheTallCyclist

I sincerely hope SRM has given Jens a ‘true’ track powermeter since the DA units do not work with a fixed gear combination (the crankarm attachment causes the zero offset to go out of watch when you put back pressure on the pedals). Maybe this one is just there for the photoshoot.

Aerodynamics wise, every cyclist knows that aerobars vs drop bars saves you around 2min and disc wheels vs the box section ‘parachutes’ used by Sosenka is another 2-3min by conservative estimates (per 40km, so even more for an hour effort). There is even an article about aero gains in a TT on this website. Before even staring Jens is minutes, yes minutes, ahead of the previous record holder

Therefore, Jens being the first person to tackle the hour record with the new rules and legal modern equipment will most likely (barring some unforeseen mishap) break the record. No matter what the event, the first person to do it, always has the luxury/privelege to be the benchmark setter. Less credit to all the other favorites such as Cancellars, Wiggins, etc. who could have had it all given to them on a platter.

The whole things is a great commercial move by Trek. Having your highest publicity athlete tackling something with a HUGE head start will give you boasting rights for years to come. It’s a safe bet.

It’s a lot of hype, however, it is all carefully calculated by Trek (you have to go backwards to blow a 4min equipment advantage…). They need a positive image as a brand after the Lance fiasco and the Schleck primadonas.
Nitro

I say good luck to Jens and all of the Trek team behind this… If he breaks the record and it only stands for a couple of months, mission still accomplished for kick-starting another round of attempts…

If modern aerodynamics analysis / the new rules give anyone attempting this a big head start, more shame on the other teams for not getting the publicity machine into gear as well as Trek have !