Hour record – tohuvavohu
2015-06-12
Last Sunday Bradley Wiggins rode a new hour record – 54’526m. In fact, the hour record is the most prestigious record in cycling! But why is this mark a record? Tony Rominger did 55’291m in 1994, Chris Boardman 56’375m with Obree’s Superman-Position 1996…
More than 100 years ago the UCI started to ban some bikes for races and for the hour record due to better aerodynamics. „Now“ there is a lot of confusion which bike should be used for a legal UCI-record and which mark must be used as reference. It is not easy to define the positon of the rider on a bike. Is Graeme Obree’s superman-position a recumbent bike or an upright? Are discwheels and streamlined helmets fairings or not? Fact is that Aurelien Bonneteau broke Boardman’s record with a recumbent bike. He did 56’696m in 2014. This record is not recognised as unfaired recumbent, he used shoefairings and also his shouldersupports are streamlined. Tohuvavohu at all! What is an upright bike? What is an unfaired recumbent, what a partial faired recumbent? What is a fairing / shell?
The real hour record in our eyes ist he HPV-record. The bike can be totally faired and must be pushed only by human power, without chemical cooling or ice (this is no longer human power). All mechanical and aerodynamics helps are allowed. Only a few restrictions regarding the start and the track are given.
More details about the UCI hour record and the recumbent hour record on wikipedia.