Hour record

For the hour record in athletics, see Hour run.

The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. There are several records. The most famous is for upright bicycles meeting the requirements of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). It is one of the most prestigious in cycling. Hour-record attempts are made in a velodrome, frequently at high altitude for the aerodynamic benefit of thinner air.

The first recorded record was in 1876 when Frank Dodds rode 26.508 km (16.471mi) on a penny-farthing. In 1972, Eddy Merckx set a record of 49.431 km (30.715 mi) that stood for 12 years. The current UCI record is by Ondřej Sosenka, 49.700 km (30.882 mi).

History

Because of aerodynamics, the hour record has seen innovative equipment, but this has led to debate in cycling over the extent to which records should reflect only the skill, strength and stamina of the cyclist, or whether changes in bicycle design should be accepted.

On July 7 1933, Francis Faure set 45.055 km (27.996mi) riding an aerodynamic recumbent, but in 1934 the UCI rejected recumbents. This led to two classes of record. In one, any design is allowed, provided the power comes from the rider; this is administered by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association. In the other, only upright bicycles are permitted; this is administered by the UCI.

UCI hour record

The hour record is usually attempted by road cyclists towards the end of their career. This is true of Miguel Indurain (Spain), Francesco Moser (Italy) and Chris Boardman (Great Britain). Eddy Merckx said his hour record attempt was "the hardest ride I have ever done". It was set in Mexico City at an altitude of 2,300m (7,550 ft).

Eddy Merckx's 1972 hour record bike

In January 1984, Moser set two records, the second being 51.151 km (31.784mi). This was the first noted use of disc wheels, which provided aerodynamic benefit. Moser's record is disputed for another reason. At the time he was coached by Dr Francesco Conconi, a proponent of doping such as blood transfusions and EPO. Conconi agreed that Moser had used blood transfusions, not banned at the time.

In 1993 and 1994, Graeme Obree, a Scot who built his own bikes, posted two records with his hands tucked under his chest. In 1996, Boardman set a record using another position pioneered by Obree, his arms out in front in a Superman position. Both were controversial, and while the records were allowed to stand, the positions were banned. Obree and Boardman made several attempts to top the previous record.

With the increasing gap between modern bicycles and what was available at the time of Merckx's record, the UCI established two records:

• the UCI Hour Record (which restricts competitors to roughly the same equipment as Merckx, disallowing time trial helmets, disc or tri-spoke wheels, aerodynamic bars and monocoque frames) and
• the Best Human Effort - sometimes termed the UCI "Absolute" Record.

All records since 1972, including Boardman's 56.375 km (35.03mi) in 1996 were downgraded to Best Human Effort. In 2000, Boardman attempted the UCI record on a traditional bike, and rode 49.441 km (30.721mi), topping Merckx by 10m (30 ft) - an improvement of 0.02%. In 2005 Ondřej Sosenka improved Boardman's performance at 49.700 km (30.882 mi) using a 54x13 gear. At 2m (6.6 ft) tall, Sosenka used an unusual saddle position and a small vertical frame height to stay within UCI regulations.

Example UCI Hour record-holders, with equipment description

Date	Rider	Age	Velodrome	Distance (km)	Equipment
25 October 1972	Eddy Merckx	27	Mexico City	49.431	drop handlebar/round steel tubing frame/wire spokes
23 January 1984	Francesco Moser	32	Mexico City	51.151	bull-horn handlebar/oval steel tubing frame/disk wheels
17 July 1993	Graeme Obree	27	Hamar, Norway	51.596	Graeme Obree-style "praying mantis" handlebar/round steel tubing frame/carbon tri-spoke wheels
23 July 1993	Chris Boardman	24	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux	52.270	triathlon handlebar/carbon airfoil tubing frame/carbon 4-spoke wheels
15 January 1994	Francesco Moser	42	Mexico City	51.84	Graeme Obree-style "praying mantis" handlebar/ chest-pad on top frame / wheels unknown - UCI VETERAN's RECORD
27 April 1994	Graeme Obree	28	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux	52.713	Graeme Obree-style "praying mantis" handlebar/round steel tubing frame/carbon tri-spoke wheels
2 September 1994	Miguel Indurain	30	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux	53.040	wide triathlon handlebar/carbon monocoque aero frame/disk wheels
22 October 1994	Tony Rominger	33	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux	53.832	triathlon handlebar/oval steel tubing frame/disk wheels
5 November 1994	Tony Rominger	33	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux	55.291	triathlon handlebar/oval steel tubing frame/disk wheels
6 September 1996	Chris Boardman	28	Manchester, UK	56.375	Graeme Obree "superman-style" handlebar/carbon monocoque aero frame/5-spoke front & rear disk wheels

The veteran's record set by Moser in 1994 was faster than his more celebrated record in 1984, when he used a bullhorn handlebar, steel airfoil tubing, disk wheels and skinsuit. It was also faster than Obree's first record in 1993. Had Moser ridden Obree's bike before Obree did, Moser might have held the official record at age 42. Moser was riding before UCI rule changes were to be put in effect by May 7 of that year. These were to out-law the Obree praying mantis style. Obree created the Superman bike that Boardman eventually rode to the UCI Absolute record of 56.375 km in 1996.

Moser was inspired by Obree's bike and wanted a copy. The bike Moser rode on his veteran's record had a praying mantis handlebar and Obree-style frame. Moser modified it with a chest pad. The altitude of Mexico City helped Moser beat Obree's mark set at lower altitude in Norway. But if Obree hadn't broken style and tradition in the first place, this form of time-trial bike would not have been known. However, at that same time, Boardman held the overall record. Later that year, Obree beat both for his second hour record at low-altitude, this time in Bordeaux in France.

IHPVA/WHPVA Hour record

The IHPVA/WHPVA record led to fully-faired human powered machines, typically streamlined recumbent bicycles. These feature a lower frontal area than a UCI bicycle due to their recumbent seating design of the rider. They enclose the rider and machine in aerodynamic shapes made of carbon fibre, Kevlar or Fiberglass to reduce air resistance. The record Hour speeds for these machines (56 mph - mens and 52 mph - women's) are faster than what a UCI rider could perform in a short 200-meter sprint (45 mph) for 10 seconds, demonstrating a remarkable level of efficiency and speed.

The IHPVA was started in 1975 by Jack Lambie and California college professor, Dr. Chet Kyle, who challenged his students to build a faster bicycle. The recumbent design banned in 1934 and the used of additional streamlined devices banned in 1914 were allowed back into a sanctioned competition.

A look back at history ... In 1933, Francis Faure goes 27.9 miles on an unfaired recumbent, later Maurice Richard goes 27.82 miles on an unfaired upright bicycle, then Marcel Berthet goes 30.20 and 31.06 miles on streamlined upright, all in one-hour. The bike racing world is plunged into chaos and HPVs are banned from UCI racing. Not to be kept from tinkering... In 1939, Francis Faure goes 31.40 miles on a streamlined recumbent. In 1972, the great Eddy Merckx goes 30.72 miles on an unfaired bicycle, which would have made him third all-time between the two marks from the 1930's. In 1979, the IHPVA hour record was first set by Olympian Ron Skarin on a streamlined upright bicycle designed by Chet and Joyce Kyle. Skarin went 31.88 miles on a streamlined upright. It was 40 years since a streamlined upright held the record, but this record was short-lived.

The VECTOR TANDEM 1980 mark. In 1980, Ron Skarin and Eric Hollander went 46.30 miles in a streamlined recumbent tandem, an amazing 14.5 mile increase for the hour record. No longer could any UCI bike even go as fast in a sprint as a HPV could go for an hour. Even today, the best UCI unfaired upright 200-meter mark is 45 mph at altitude. The Vector Tandem ushered in a new era. It is interesting to note that the Vector Tandem's ONE HOUR record of 46.3 mph in 1980 would have been the 200-meter top speed record in 1975, only five years earlier. HPV's had come that far in only six IHPSC competitions (1975-1980). The Vector Tandem's Hour record lasted ten years, after which single-rider streamlined recumbent bicycles have held the One Hour mark.

In 1990, Pat Kinch went 46.96 miles with a streamlined recumbent to recapture the overall hour mark for single-rider vehicles. In between this time, Eric Edwards went 36.94 miles in 1980 and Fred Markham 45.36 miles in 1989 to increase the single-rider mark. Lars Teutenberg did 48.49 miles in 1996. In 1998 Sam Whittingham goes 49.17 miles. Then he battles with Lars Teutenberg and Bram Moens (along the way Matt Weaver puts in some remarkable 50+ mile runs) to increase the overall record. In 2006, the ageless Fast Fred Markham's tops them all with a remarkable 53.43 miles for a new overall mark. Then Sam Whittingham and Damjan Zabovnik battled to increase the record to its current standing of 56.3 miles.

Stats: In 1933, there was a 3.24 mile descrepancy between what was the best Hour mark and Hour record, just within that year. Nonetheless, it increased only a 1/3 mile in the next five years to 31.4 mph in 1939. It then took 40 years (1939-1979), for the overall hour record to increase a 1/2 mile. Then in one year (1979-1980), the Vector Tandem increased the hour record by an incredible 14-1/2 miles. In the 29 years since (1980-2009), the hour record has increased another 10 miles.

The current record was set in 2009 by 5-time Hour record setter Canadian Sam Whittingham at 90.598 km (56.295  mi), ridden on the 8 km (5 mile) track at Ford Michigan Proving Grounds. He bettered the previous record by Damjan Zabovnik of Slovenia (87.123 km, 54.136 mi) set a year earlier on the 5.8 km oval track at the Eurospeedway Lausitz, near Klettwitz, Brandenburg, Germany.

Through August 2, 2009, 138 one-hour runs using aerodynamic fairings have exceeded Boardman's (35.03 mph or 56.375 kph) UCI record. This list is maintained by Mike Mowett, IHPVA Records Committee. Some marks on the list are considered unofficial, but all are recorded Hour distances for human powered vehicles.

Earlier records include 2006-07-02 49-year-old Fred Markham, a 1976-80 US Olympic team member, at 85.991 km (53.432 mi) on the track at the Nissan Technical Center North America, near Casa Grande in Arizona. Markham won $18,000 as a share of the $25,000 Dempsey-MacCready One Hour Prize that was to have awarded to the first HPV to surpass 90 km. [Sam Whittingham would actually surpass this distance 3 years later]. Although Markham had not exceeded 90 km, the prize time limit had expired and its shares awarded to those that traveled furthest through July 2, 2006. Markham displaced the previous record by Whittingham, who cycled 84.215 km (52.329 mi) July 31, 2004 on the 4.8 km oval GM/Opel test track in Dudenhofen, Germany. Both rode vehicles called Varna designed and built by the Bulgarian sculptor George Georgiev, who lives in British Columbia, Canada.. Sam Whittingham won back the record one year later at the Nissan Technical Center North America with 86.752 km.

During 2007, the 1933 record of Francis Faure was broken by another cyclist riding a recumbent without aerodynamic fairings. Sean Costin rode a recumbent made by the Polish manufacturer Velokraft (model name NoCom), covering 28.459 miles (45.800 kilometers) on the 382m (0.237 mi) outdoor concrete velodrome in Northbrook, Illinois on June 6, 2007. Costin then rode 29.76 miles (47.89 km) on the 250-meter (0.155 mi) indoor wooden velodrome at the ADT Event Center in California. In the later event, he converted his Velokraft NoCom to a fixed-gear. Both events were conducted by the WRRA World Recumbent Racing Association.

On October 24, 2008, Gert-Jan Wijers, also 41, bettered Costin with 50.389 km (31.31 miles) on the 250m Alkmaar velodrome located near sea-level. Wijers rode a production version of the M5 carbon high-racer recumbent modified with dual disk carbon wheels and a fixed-gear freewheel. Wijers became the first unfaired (non-streamlined enclosed) recumbent rider to exceed 50 km. Details: . On May 15th, 2009, 26 year old Aurélien Bonneteau set a new WRRA one hour unfaired world record in Bordeaux-Lax, France at the Guy Lapebie indoor velodrome by pedaling 50.529 kilometers (31.32 miles) in one hour. Aurélien was racing an M5 lowracer set up with single speed gearing, both front and rear wheel disks, and a very elliptical chainring.

On July 12, 2008, Damjan Zabovnik, 33 years old, riding his self-designed Eivie II bicycle rode 87.12 km (54.14 miles) on the Dekra Test Oval (Eurospeedway Lausitz) 5.8 km Test Oval near Klettwitz, Germany. The Eivie II is a backwards-ridden vehicle with Zabovnik's head pointed in the direction of travel. Zabovnik lies on his back with his eyes looking upwards into a mirror pointed forward in order to navigate the course. This was a World One Hour Record and remarkably came with rain falling in the last half hour of his attempt. Damjan's speed dropped from 94 kph to 88 kph during this time as fogging of his windshield was occurring causing him visibility problems. The Detra oval has long straightaways comprising 83.5% of its total course length and tight banked curves at either end.

On Sunday July 19, 2009, at the Ford - Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, MI, both the Men's One Hour and Women's One Hour world records fell on the same day. Sam Whittingham staged an epic battle with the pre-existing record holder Damjan Zabovnik of Slovenia. Damjan rode 77 km in just over 50 minutes before retiring due to heat exhaustion. Sam had passed Damjan earlier in the event, and became the first human to exceed 90 km in one hour using pedal power. Whittingham's final mark was 90.5978 km (56.2948 miles). Later in this same day, Barbara Buatois, 32 years old, from France broke her own world hour record that she had just set two days earlier. Barbara's first Record of the weekend was 82.1200 km (51.0269 miles) on Friday July 17, 2009. This broke the existing women's mark by 12%, and gave her the title of the 6th fastest human to have done the One Hour. However, her 84.0204 km (52.2077 miles) late Sunday evening moved her up to the title of the 4th fastest human (man or woman) to done the One Hour. Both Sam and Barbara rode a vehicle called the Varna Tempest, designed and built by Georgi Georgiev of Canada. The Ford oval is 8 km (5 miles) around with 60% of the course turns and 40% straightaways. It had been rebuilt and repaved the year prior to these attempts. The elevation of the course is flat at 295 meters (968 feet) above sea level, hence this is considered a low-altitude location (<700 meters) per IHPVA/WHPVA rules. Details:

Hour records and holders (Male)

Hour record-holders and dates: (a) UCI hour record (b) UCI best human effort (c) IHPVA/WHPVA hour record (km)

Date	By	Location	(a)	(b)	(c)
1876	Frank Dodds		26.508
11 May 1893	Henri Desgrange	Buffalo, Paris	35.325
31 October 1894	Jules Dubois	Buffalo, Paris	38.220
30 July 1897	Oscar Van Den Eynde	Vincennes, Paris	39.240
3 July 1898	Willie Hamilton	Colorado Springs, USA	40.781
24 August 1905	Lucien Petit-Breton	Buffalo, Paris	41.110
20 June 1907	Marcel Berthet	Paris	41.520
22 August 1912	Oscar Egg	Paris	42.122
7 August 1913	Marcel Berthet	Paris	42.741
21 August 1913	Oscar Egg	Paris	43.525
20 September 1913	Marcel Berthet	Paris	43.775
18 August 1914	Oscar Egg	Paris	44.247
7 July 1933	Francis Faure	Vélodrome du Parc des Princes, Paris			45.055
25 August 1933	Jan Van Hout	Roermond	44.588
18 November 1933	Marcel Berthet	France			49.99
28 September 1933	Maurice Richard	Sint-Truiden, Belgium	44.777
31 October 1935	Giuseppe Olmo	Velodromo Vigorelli, Milan	45.090
14 October 1936	Maurice Richard	Vigorelli, Milan	45.325
29 September 1937	Frans Slaats	Vigorelli, Milan	45.485
3 November 1937	Maurice Archambaud	Vigorelli, Milan	45.767
1938	Francois Faure	France			50.53
7 November 1942	Fausto Coppi	Vigorelli, Milan	45.798
29 June 1956	Jacques Anquetil	Vigorelli, Milan	46.159
19 September 1956	Ercole Baldini	Vigorelli, Milan	46.394
18 September 1957	Roger Rivière	Vigorelli, Milan	46.923
23 September 1959	Roger Rivière	Vigorelli, Milan	47.347
30 October 1967	Ferdi Bracke	Olympic Velodrome, Rome	48.093
10 October 1968	Ole Ritter	Mexico City	48.653
25 October 1972	Eddy Merckx	Mexico City	49.431
5 May 1979	Ron Skarin	Ontario, Cal. USA			51.31
4 May 1980	Eric Edwards	Ontario, Cal. USA			59.45
4 May 1980	Ron Skarin & Eric Hollander*	Ontario, Cal. USA			74.51
19 January 1984	Francesco Moser	Mexico City		50.808
23 January 1984	Francesco Moser	Mexico City		51.151
29 September 1984	Fred Markham	Indianapolis, USA			60.35
10 September 1985	Richard Crane	Warwickshire, England			66.30
28 August 1986	Fred Markham	Vancouver, Canada			67.01
15 September 1989	Fred Markham	Adrian, USA			73.00
8 September 1990	Pat Kinch	Bedfordshire, England			75.57
17 July 1993	Graeme Obree	Hamar, Norway		51.596
23 July 1993	Chris Boardman	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		52.270
27 April 1994	Graeme Obree	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		52.713
2 September 1994	Miguel Indurain	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		53.040
22 October 1994	Tony Rominger	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		53.832
5 November 1994	Tony Rominger	Velodrome du Lac, Bordeaux		55.291
27 July 1996	Lars Teutenberg	Munich, Germany			78.04
7 September 1996	Chris Boardman	Manchester, UK		56.375
29 July 1998	Sam Whittingham	Blainville, Canada			79.136
7 August 1999	Lars Teutenberg	Dudenhofen, Germany			81.158
27 October 2000	Chris Boardman	Manchester, UK	49.441
27 July 2002	Lars Teutenberg	Dudenhofen, Germany			82.60
19 November 2003	Sam Whittingham	Uvalde, Texas			83.71
31 July 2004	Sam Whittingham	Dudenhofen, Germany			84.215
19 July 2005	Ondřej Sosenka	Moscow, Russia	49.700
2 July 2006	Fred Markham	Casa Grande, Arizona			85.991
8 April 2007	Sam Whittingham	Casa Grande, Arizona			86.752
12 July 2008	Damjan Zabovnik	Lausitzring, Germany			87.123
19 July 2009	Sam Whittingham	Ford Michigan Proving Grounds, USA			90.598

• Vector Tandem 1980 mark

Sam's 90.598 record subject to approval by IHPVA and WHPVA records committees

Hour records (female)

The corresponding female records are:

UCI Hour record

• 46.065 km/h Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel (NED), October 2003
• 45.094 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA), December 2000
• 44.767 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA), November 2000
• 43.501 km/h Anna Wilson-Millward (AUS), October 2000

UCI Best hour performance

• 48.159 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA), October 1996
• 47.411 km/h Yvonne McGregor (GBR), June 1995
• 47.112 km/h Cathérine Marsal (FRA), April 1995
• 46.352 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA), October 1989
• 44.933 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA), September 1987
• 44.770 km/h Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli (FRA), September 1986
• 43.082 km/h Keetie van Oosten-Hage (NED), September 1978
• 41.471 km/h Maria Cressari (ITA), November 1972
• 41.347 km/h Elsy Jacobs (LUX), November 1958
• ...others

IHPVA/WHPVA

• 57.47 km/h Rosmarie Bühler (SUI), June 2001
• 62.26 km/h Corinne van Noordenne (NED), August 2001
• 68.33 km/h Ellen van Vugt (NED), August 2002
• 68.97 km/h Ellen van Vugt (NED), August 2004
• 73.41 km/h Rosmarie Bühler (SUI), August 2004
• 82.12 km/h Barbara Buatois (FRA), 17 July 2009, Ford Michigan Proving Grounds, Romeo, Michigan°
• 84.020 km/h Barbara Buatois (FRA), 19 July 2009, Ford Michigan Proving Grounds, Romeo, Michigan°

°pending approval

See also

• Track cycling
• Cycling records
• Racing bicycle

External links

• UCI hour records
• IHPVA records (also hour records for water)
• Fastest IHPVA Streamlined Bicycles: Top Speed and One Hour Performances List - updated frequently
• Incentive Prize for new hour records
• Nissan One Hour Challenge Event for Streamlined Bicycles
• Bike Cult listing of Hour records including data on machines and athlete
• Hour records with pictures of Vehicles
• Bicycle Man history including early hour records
• Video of finish of Sam Whittingham's 53.918 mph Hour Record
• Video of finish of Fred Markham's 53.432 mph Hour Record
• Video of finish of Rob English's 50.105 mph British Hour Record