Retirement doesn't appear to have slowed Jens Voigt down, as the popular German today announced that he will challenge the hour record on the 18th of September, in the Vélodrome Suisse in Grenchen, Switzerland. The record has been much talked about over the past twelve months, speculation had been rife that Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing), Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) and Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) would all attempt to break the record, provided they could find the time during the hectic cycling calendar to prepare for it properly.
The hour record was first established in 1893 by one of the pivotal figures in cycling history, Tour de France founder Henri Desgrange, who set a mark of 35.325 kilometres. It was held for a long time by the great Eddy Merckx, and the currently recognised record is the mark set by Ondrej Sosenka in 2005, who covered 49.7 kilometres. However thanks to a proliferation of specialist bike designs faster times have been set by others, including Miguel Indurain, Chris Boardman, Tony Rominger, Francesco Moser and Graeme Obree; but their marks are ignored due to their failure to comply with retrospectively applied UCI regulations. With rumours that several riders were thinking of trying for the record, the UCI updated their regulations in May 2014 toline the bike regulations with those used for track pursuit bikes, to the disappointment of Cancellara who had been working with Trek on a bike that fit the old road-style regulations.
Speaking through a Trek Factory Racing press release, Jens Voigt outlined his intentions:
“This is a huge project and probably it’s going to come as a surprise for many people. Everybody knows that Fabian (Cancellara) was working on it together with Trek, so when he decided to re-assess his plans because of the rule change (to allow pursuit-style bikes) it sparked my interest. We have been doing some discrete tests in the velodrome in Roubaix prior to the Dauphiné and we believe that I have a fair chance.”
“It’s a fascinating event: it’s super hard, but it’s a great discipline. Man and machine against the clock. A lot of logistics comes in play: when, where, how, etc. But I didn’t have to convince anybody: both Trek and our GM Luca Guercilena were all exited when I told them about my idea. They gave me a lot of support. Luckily we could use some of the blueprints that were being drawn for Fabian, so we kind of hit the ground running.”
“I look at this as one last present for my fans. I want to give them something to smile about - before the final curtain falls. But also: I want to do a good performance. This is not a circus act. The ‘hour’ has lost some of its magic over the last years. Maybe my attempt could kick off a new round of hour-record attempts. I could establish a mark for everyone to give it a try. Make a bridge, you know. I raced against Boardman, Indurain and Sosenka. And I’m racing with Fabian and his generation. If I make it, it would be sandwiched between those names. I can pave the way for them. 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 me grand children about it, when they sit on my lap when I’m 75.”
“Trek developed a really good bike for me, based on the super fast SpeedConcept, and we did some testing with different skin suits, helmets, positions, etc. I’m training very hard for the attempt. I have the Tour de France as a base layer and then I did some altitude racing in Utah and Colorado. My near-win in Colorado Springs, where I was caught with 700 meters to go, was a good reference in terms of power output. I basically was out there for one hour by myself. I had this attempt in mind that very day, besides taking the stage, of course.”
UCI President Brian Cookson has been forthcoming in his support of Voigt's initiative, saying: “I'm delighted that one of the most popular riders of the modern era, Jens Voigt, is going to make an attempt on this, the most iconic of all the UCI's records. It is exactly what we hoped would happen when we changed the rules earlier this year to allow the use of modern track bike design and technology. Jens has proven over a long career to be one of the very best riders at the long lone effort, and cycling fans around the world will be delighted with this news. Having been present myself at two previous Hour records, I'm sure his attacking style and willingness to commit himself 100% will provide a superb spectacle. And, like Jens, I too am hoping that this will be the beginning of a new wave of interest in 'The Magic Hour', as it was known in a previous golden era of our sport.”