Wow!

Just replying to bring this back to the top of the thread list, because Wow.

Very well done!

Very nice! Congratulations to Martin!

That was a great ride, wonder if anyone has seen his lap splits? How was his pacing this go?

13th at Worlds last year as well. (Right behind Dowsett)

That said, 52 to 54 is ambitious (although going to altitude makes it plausible) as he's pretty dialed in looking already. That's considering the record stays at 54.5, which I think Dowsett has good odds of lengthening fairly soon. (last report was his second attempt will be sometime after the Giro)

Would love to see it though. We're lucky Wiggo didn't get a perfect day (and oddly also kind of lucky that Zirbel set a time like he did in Mexico) so that we can continue to have fella's at least consider making attempts. Would have sucked if we went back to the 10+ year stagnation.

Gear wise pretty standard, trip socks (can't tell if that's a trip suit as well) and dmt pista's the only really exciting kit (other than the $500 helmet of course)

---

My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

so much for the "need to go wider" on the track meme :)

Thanks, guys.

Regarding split times, I have a paper at home with them and I'll try to remember to post it later. I was basically doing ~52kph from the start until I picked it up to just below 53kph for the last 10 minutes or so.

I only started track training for this and piecing equipment together in late November, so I think there's room for improvement in both regards. Air density was around 1.186 kg/m3, so there's also something to be gained there. I was 1 second behind Dowsett for the 40k at worlds, so I can't see why I shouldn't be able to go as fast as him :)

A little bit of inside info: I didn't find any difference between the standard Aerohead and the Aerohead Ultimate (CdA difference <0.001). The Ultimate includes a clear visor, though, which is nice for the track, so I opted for that - it's borrowed from a team mate that bought it recently online (the Danish distributor doesn't even import it).

interesting find. I think Giro has (finally) gotten some visors in, as they are sending me a replacement (version 2?) that supposedly doesn't sharply angle down into the cheeks like the originals do... they asked me what tint so I assume that means they had some clear/smoked ones in stock.

---

My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Yes, I know he has done a lot of field testing and there isn't any low hanging fruit. He claims there is room for improvement though.

Have you heard anything about Dowsett going to altitude? The only mention I've seen indicates Manchester like before. I think that would be quite tough unless Dowsett has some tricks up his sleeve.

Amazing ride. Congratulations.

---

-------------
Ed O'Malley
www.VeloVetta.com
Founder of VeloVetta Cycling Shoes
Instagram • Facebook

From what I've read he's still playing "fair." (sea level'ish)

I wouldn't quite count him out, he definitely did his first attempt below what he was capable of, and that after his original wreck/hospital visit/re-scheduling. May have a bit less races in his legs pre-attempt this go as well which may be worth something.

As for Martin, I'm sure he has more distance in him. I doubt anyone's best hour attempt is their first one, and as he said, he isn't a lifelong trackie so can probably gain something from more time on the track (although I do wonder exactly how much farther an "ok" line loses you vs. a "great" line. I'd guess it's not quite as much as people seem to think, but definitely some. Paging AlexS..hint hint) A couple of the women (MVH particularly) have taken the step approach, which has worked out well. (and they got faster each time I believe)

I hope Martin (and everyone else) goes after it full guns. Would like to see STer's holding the records (pro/nat/ag/whatever)

---

My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

On a scale from 1-10 how much did it hurt?

Since the UCI is no longer restricting altitude, it seems odd that more people aren't using Aguascalientes. If the record is eventually set there, it will be tough to break it anywhere else.

If anyone is interested in hour records and altitude, this is a very good read: https://www.researchgate.net/..._with_empirical_data

Dowsett seems to be variable in his performance. He occasionally impresses, but isn't one of the top TTers on average. I'll be very surprised if he can beat the current record at sea level.

What is the "step approach"?

*step* just meant they attempt the hour multiple times. (In MVH's case I believe she did the US, then UCI masters then UCI Pro, although part of that was because of the bio passport)

I think when Dowsett is allowed to focus he's an outstanding TTer (Castroviejo is in there as well, and maybe Kiryienka) but they aren't big enough names for the team to just give them free reign to focus on TT's even to the extent that say Fabian or Martin were given. He may not beat the record, but I feel like with all the data / support Movistar have, (specific for him even) they wouldn't put the investment in if they hadn't crunched the numbers and figured he had a good shot.

I think there was a sort of gentleman's agreement to try to best each other at sea level. I don't think anyone wants to be "the guy" that set the record, but did it at altitude when everyone else was at sea level. (Other than Dekker who did not set it at Aguascalientes) There's also the possibility at failing at altitude... which might hold some negative repercussions for a professional (again, Dekker was likely hoping to jump start his career. Not setting the record at altitude had about the opposite effect.)

I'm actually quite surprised... I figured somebody would be having a go at Stevens record now that the Olympics are out of the way.

---

My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Dowsett's best at Worlds is an 8th in 2012, and I wouldn't rank him any higher than that. Kiryienka won worlds recently and Castroviejo was 4th and 3rd that last two years, so they have a much better record IMO.

I think they know if one goes to altitude, that will be the end of all the other locations. And they'd much rather have their entourage close and the home town crowd. I'm surprised the UCI hasn't outlawed altitude. I bet they will after the fact like they have on many other things.

Perhaps 8? It wasn't that bad actually - but maybe I just didn't go hard enough? I would rate it pretty close to a flat 1h TT with no turns or hills where you can let up and/or get out of the saddle for a bit. The constant turns was not something I noticed that much, actually.

Fun fact, for the last ~40k of the 52k Chrono des Nations TT (i.e. the flatter part of that TT) I was actually a few seconds faster than both Kiriyenka and Castroviejo.

Anyway, I believe I could do at least 53 km in Ballerup (where I did this forst attempt) with everything optimized. Maybe even 53.5 km or so. If I had hit my best 1h power from in-season last year I would have gone ~1 km further, but I do think you put out a bit less on the track, so let's call it 500 m more in top shape. I also have around 500 m in better conditions (primarily hotter than those 24C). How much aerodynamic gain I can find is open for debate, but my guess would be at least 200-300 m.

I really don't know how big of a difference a 'slow' velodrome is compared to a 'fast' velodrome. We have a velodrome in Denmark that's supposed to be faster, but can only be heated to ~10C more than outside, so it's not really usable in the winter here. But I might go there some day when it gets warmer to test and see how much faster it is.

Thanks! :)

Well done sir, well done.

Congrats

Dowsett has won ITTs at the tours of Britain, Switzerland, and Poland, and he won a 54.8k ITT stage at the Giro d'Italia in 2013 over Bradley Wiggins (among others).

Dowsett is a big bodied roleuer on a team with top GC riders, so he's often expected to ride the front for hours each day at big stage races to control things for guys like Quintana & Valverde. Kiryienka is in the same boat on Sky, but he's 7 years older than Dowsett and maybe has more capacity and experience as a result. Kiryienka also doesn't regularly feature in TTs, it's just been in the last few years - his win at worlds was a surprise at the time. Perhaps as Dowsett gets older and better established he'll be able to both ride the front every day and still have enough in the tank to do good TTs.

Also, as Dowsett will be the first to admit, he's a terrible climber. Much worse than Kiryienka or the much smaller Catroviejo, so getting himself over the climbs in the grand tours to make the time cut takes him a lot more energy in comparison. A TT specialist has to win a lot (Tony Martin, Taylor Phinney) in order to not wind up basically as a worker at every race. When you're either riding the front for a potential winner every day, or struggling to get over the climbs, there's less physical & mental energy left on a TT day. Your choices are to give it full gas (with full warmup, course recon, etc.) and maybe get a top-5 (and wreck yourself for the next day), or ride at 75-80% to make the time cut and essentially get a rest day - making the days after the TT that much easier. In some cases the team will even order the rider to do the latter, knowing they'll need him later in the race.

Not to leave it out, congratulations to Martin!!!

Still, an outstanding effort Sir! Wish you all of the best in future attempts.

Got to ride on a track once, brutal stuff.

Amazing ride, bro and nothing but respect. Good luck on setting the bar higher!

---

The Home of Advanced Running
Advanced Running Instagram Page
My narcisstic training log

Impressive!!

---

All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Hello Martin and All,


Congratulations!!

---

Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster