German Jens Voigt has become the first rider to crack 50 kilometers ridden in the world hour record since the UCI modified the rules earlier this year. Voigt bested the previous mark - set by Ondrej Sosenka on a standard bike without aerodynamic equipment in Moscow on July 19, 2005 - by more than a kilometer.

Voigt rode 51.115km, or more than 204 laps, over the hour on the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen, Switzerland on Thursday night.

The Trek Factory Racing rider called an end to his road career at the USA Pro Challenge in Colorado in August, 2014, but soon announced his attempt at the record. When the day came, the German was more than up to the task.

"I went off a little too fast at the start and I had a bad spell after the halfway mark, but the support of the crowd and knowing that this was my last race meant that I could finish strongly," Voigt said. "I gave everything in the last 20 minutes. I'm really happy with the distance: 51km is more than I imagined. It’s an intense event: there is no downhill, no hiding behind a teammate; it's like a breakaway when you don't want to be caught by the peloton."

The feat was the first since the UCI unified the rules for the hour record in May, allowing the record to be attempted on a bike that meets the current rules for individual pursuit, rather than restricting records to the previous two categories, the hour record, which specified no aerodynamic equipment, and the "best human effort", which allowed upright bicycle frames with certain aerodynamic enhancements.

Before Sosenka, the record was held by Chris Boardman, who set the mark in October, 2000. Boardman still holds the mark for "best human effort", set in September of 1996, when he rode 56.373km in the "superman" position with an aerodynamic frame and a rear disc wheel.


Read more @ www.cyclingnews.com/news/voigt-breaks-world-hour-record

 It was so awesome velodrome I can watch for hours and hours

 55x14 gear ratio !!! Fuck me !!!

 GJ Jens!