Hour Record madness…

Rohan Dennis’ newly set Hour Record is already in jeopardy of falling in less than three weeks after he raised the bar nearly 600 metres by riding 52.491 kilometres in 60 minutes on February 8 at the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen.

The 24-year-old South Australian’s effort was the third successful ride in four tries, dating back to the current spate of Hour Record attempts following the UCI’s “unified rule change” last year.

Recently retired German pro cyclist Jens Voigt kicked things off on September 18, a day after his 43rd birthday, by breaking Ondřej Sosenka’s nine-year-old record (49.7km) by riding 51.110km.

Now, currently unemployed Dutch cyclist Thomas Dekker, who failed to make the cut following his former team’s (Garmin-Sharp) merger with Cannondale, has a bit of time on his hands and will look to become cycling’s newest 60-minute man on Wednesday (Thursday, February 26, 5.15am AEST) at Aguascalientes in Mexico –1800 metres above sea level.

Sport scientist Leon Burger, who is working with Dekker, downplayed the potential advantage of altitude last month.

“This is due to many factors, such as whether he is well acclimatised,” Burger told Dutch website AD.nl. “At altitude you have less drag, but you can also deliver less power.”

The former Tirreno-Adriatico (2006) and Tour de Romandie (2007) winner is the third cyclist to attempt the record this year, after Australian Jack Bobridge (Budget Forklifts) came up 500m short of Austria’s Matthias Brändle's (IAM Cycling) record (51.852km) on January 31st in Melbourne before Dennis (BMC Racing) smashed the record a week later.

The history of the Hour Record is sketchy at best, with the first recorded record coming in 1876 when American Frank Dodds rode a penny-farthing 26.508km. However not long after, rumours surfaced that claimed English cyclist James Moore had indeed set the first record (23.331km) in 1873 on an Ariel 49” high-wheeler.

However, the record was not officially recognised until 1893, when Frenchman Henri Desgrange rode 35.325km following the formation of the International Cycling Association.

Fast forward to the modern era, when the legendary Eddy Merckx, arguably cycling’s greatest road cyclist of all time, set a record of 49.331km in the high-altitude (2300m) and thin air of Mexico City.

From then on, Italian Francesco Moser, Switzerland’s Tony Rominger and Brits Chris Boardman and Graeme Obree played games of one-upmanship for over a decade until Sosenka put it to rest for nearly 10 years.

In 1997, due to the increasing gap in bicycle technology, the UCI made the decision to establish two sets of records – the UCI Hour Record and the “Best Human Effort” which did not have to comply with UCI restrictions on bike geometry or aerodynamic equipment advantages.

Confused?

Join the club.

Basically, the new rule downgraded all records since 1972 to “Best Human Effort.” In 2000, Boardman set a new record on a traditional bike by riding 49.441km – 10m more than Merckx in 1972.

In May, the UCI announced the Merckx Hour Record was no more. Pro cycling’s governing body ditched the 1972 mark and its bike-design rules in favour of a single, unified Hour Record using equipment regulations borrowed from modern track pursuit bikes.

Still confused?

Same!

Pass or fail, Dekker’s attempt while not be the last. Other riders who have thrown their name into the Hour Record hat, include Olympic time trial gold medalist Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), time trial World Champion Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep), Alex Rasmussen (Team Trefor – Blue Water) and Alex Dowsett (Movistar), who was forced to postpone his February 27 attempt after suffering a broken collarbone following a training ride crash in January.

And according to Bobridge’s sports director Cameron Watt the former Belkin rider and 4000m individual pursuit world record holder could have another crack at the Hour once they debrief following Bobridge’s return from Paris where he and his team pursuit teammates, including Luke Davison, Alex Edmondson and Miles Scotson, return from their less-than-expected bronze medal performance at the 2015 Track Worlds.

Even Southern Spin is thinking about entering the fray.

As for the 30-year-old Dekker? The two-time national time trial champion, who in 2013 admitted in an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad to doping while employed at Rabobank (2005-08), has yet to rebound from his two-year suspension, but that could all change in 3,600 seconds tomorrow.

Success? Failure? Redemption? No matter what’s in the cards for Dekker, Southern Spin will be glued in to Eurosport, and whether it’s success or failure, here’s hoping for the latter.

Aaron S. Lee | Follow on Twitter

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