The Hour Record
Posted on 01. Led, 2010 by admin in EXTRA, HODINOVKA, TECHNIKA, Z TISKU
The Cycling World Hour Record is the most famous record in cycling, from 1893 to 2000 the best cyclists in the World have held the hour record including legends like Fausto Coppi or Eddy Merckx. In all these years the hour record has seen innovative equipment. But on september 9th 2000, the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale – International Cycling Union) decided to create a “UCI Hour Record” as well as a “Best Hour Performance”. From that day, the UCI Hour Record was the one that Eddy Merckx achieved in Mexico on 25th October 1972, covering a distance of 49.43195 km. This UCI Hour Record can only be attempted if the equipment is presented and checked beforehand by the UCI and it must be similar to that used by Merckx.
The records on this page are true “hour records” from 1893 until 1996!!! For the “new” UCI records look at UCI hour record page.
Chronic of the hour record
| Distcance (km) |
Rider | Nation. | Location | Date | Gearing | Bike Weight (g) | Crank Arm | Cadence (rpm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35.325 | Henri Desgrange | FRA | Paris | 11.5.1893 | ||||
| 38.220 | Jules Dubois | FRA | Paris | 31.10.1894 | ||||
| 39.240 | Marcel Van den Eynde | BEL | Paris | 30.7.1897 | ||||
| 40.781 | Willie Hamilton | USA | Denver | 9.7.1898 | ||||
| 41.110 | Lucien Petit-Breton | FRA | Paris | 24.08.1905 | ||||
| 41.520 | Marcel Berthet | FRA | Paris | 20.06.1907 | ||||
| 42.122 | Oscar Egg | ZWI | Paris | 26.08.1912 | 34×7=7,22m(2) | 8500 | 97,2 | |
| 42.306 0 | Richard Weise | WDL | Berlin | 27.7.1913 | ||||
| 42.741 | Marcel Berthet | FRA | Paris | 07.08.1913 | ||||
| 43.525 | Oscar Egg | ZWI | Paris | 21.08.1913 | ||||
| 43.775 | Marcel Berthet | FRA | Paris | 21.09.1913 | ||||
| 44.247 | Oscar Egg | ZWI | Paris | 18.06.1914 | 24×7=7,22m | 102,1 | ||
| 44.588 | Jan Van Hout | NED | Roermond | 25.08.1933 | ||||
| 44.777 | Maurice Richard | FRA | St. Truiden | 29.08.1933 | 24×7=7,32m | 8500 | 101,9 | |
| 45.090 | Giuseppe Olmo | ITA | Milano | 31.10.1935 | 24×7=7,32m | 8000 | 102,7 | |
| 45.3983 | Maurice Richard | FRA | Milano | 14.10.1936 | 24×7=7,32m | 8000 | 172 | 103,4 |
| 45.5583 | Frans Slaats | NED | Milano | 29.09.1937 | 24×7=7,32m | 8000 | 103,7 | |
| 45.8403 | Maurice Archambaud | FRA | Milano | 04.11.1937 | 24×7=7,32m | 171 | 104,4 | |
| 45.8713 | Fausto Coppi | ITA | Milano | 07.11.1942 | 52×15=7,40m | 9500 | 171 | 103,3 |
| 46.159 | Jacques Anquetil | FRA | Milano | 29.06.1956 | 52×15=7,40m | 7300 | 104,0 | |
| 46.393 | Ercole Baldini | ITA | Milano | 19.09.1956 | 6450 | |||
| 46.924 | Roger Riviere | FRA | Milano | 18.09.1957 | 52×15=7,40m | 6450 | 171 | 105,7 |
| 47.346 | Roger Riviere | FRA | Milano | 23.09.1958 | 53×15=7,54m | 6850 | 175 | 104,7 |
| 47.493 1 | Jaques Anquetil | FRA | Milano | 27.09.1967 | 52×13=8,54m | 6690 | 175 | 92,7 |
| 48.093 | Ferdinand Bracke | BEL | Rome | 30.10.1967 | 53×15=7,54m | 5960 | 175 | 106,3 |
| 48.653 | Ole Ritter | DEN | Mexico City | 10.10.1968 | 54×15=7,69m | 7000 | 175 | 105,4 |
| 49.431 | Eddy Merckx | BEL | Mexico City | 25.10.1972 | 52×14=7,93m | 5750 | 175 | 103,9 |
| 50.808 | Francesco Moser | ITA | Mexico City | 19.01.1984 | 56×15=8,12m | 7850 | 175 | 104,3 |
| 51.151 | Francesco Moser | ITA | Mexico City | 23.01.1984 | 57×15=8,27m | 7500 | 175 | 103,1 |
| 51.596 | Graeme Obree | GBR | Hamar | 17.07.1993 | 52×12=9,25m | 175 | 93,0 | |
| 52.270 | Chris Boardman | GBR | Bordeaux | 23.07.1993 | 53×13=8,56m | 7100 | 175 | 101,8 |
| 52.713 | Graeme Obree | GBR | Bordeaux | 27.04.1994 | 175 | |||
| 53.040 | Miguel Indurain | ESP | Bordeaux | 02.09.1994 | 59×14=8,76m | 6500 | 190 | 100,9 |
| 53.832 | Tony Rominger | ZWI | Bordeaux | 22.10.1994 | 59×14=8,85m | 8300 | 172,5 | 101,4 |
| 55.291 | Tony Rominger | ZWI | Bordeaux | 05.11.1994 | 60×14=9.02m | 8300 | 172,5 | 102,2 |
| 56.375 | Chris Boardman | GBR | Manchester | 06.09.1996 | 56×13=8,95m | 170 ? | 105,0 |
0 Unofficial after remeasurement of the track
1 Unofficial record, because Anquetil did not show up at the drug test
2 Must be a typo on the original page
3 Different numbers, search for another source
This table could be found in the german “Bruegelmann-Radsport” Catalog some years ago. Look here for the original page
Hour records since 1984 with split times
Hour records since 1984 in detail
With the information of the 5 km split-times one can easily calculate the
speed of the rider during the last 5 km and the average speed at that
moment. I created some plots showing these two values.
Francesco Moser: The first man beyond 50 km/h
The sensational Graeme Obree
The empire strikes back: Chris Boardman
Obree’s revenge
Miguel Indurain: The “Extraterrestrial” sets a new record
Incredible: Tony Rominger 55.291 km/h
Chris Boardman smashes Rominger’s record: 56.375 km/h
Taken from http://www.wolfgang-menn.de/hourrec.htm