Roughly needs to squeeze 9 laps into an hour.

From most reports of the Aguas track vs. sea level tracks around the world, you'd think he'd be very, very close to getting there just by going to that track if nothing else changes. That's not really considering a highly positive adaptation to altitude, which could be more.

On the negative, the track in Aguas is being refinished currently, which will slow it down some amount, although how much I don't know.

I think Martin has done his homework and talked to the right people... he wouldn't be going if he wasn't pretty confident.

Of course, once the record falls at Aguas, that becomes basically the only track in the world it can be attacked at in the future, which is kind of unfortunate.

*Good luck Martin, go left!

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

I don't think it's unfortunate. All the big boys are scared to go after Wiggins at sea level, and this would open it up. I think it's great that a nice track was built in a relatively poor country like Mexico, and it's the fastest in the world. They could always build a track in the alps if they didn't want to travel so far.... ;)

So, the track refinishing. Any idea what that does? The coating will be not fully cured or something?

I am not sure exactly what is entailed in the refinishing, definitely sanding and whatever coating is applied.
Rob (Van Houweling) spoke about it a little bit on the cycling time trial podcast a few weeks ago, he mentioned that Thomas Dekker would have broken the record if the track hadn't been refinished right before his attempt (he missed Rohan Dennis' then current record by slightly more than a lap)

I assume that the final coating on the boards raises the rolling resistance slightly, and as it wears down it lowers, although that's just my guess.

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

It was interesting because when Wiggins set the record in Manchester, there was a bunch written about how he left the door open to have it broken by virtue of doing it at sea level. The overall experience in Manchester was supposed to be amazing, and he basically knew he had it barring some weird mishap (which can always happen), but given that I don't see him wanting to do it again, it did seem a bit odd that he didn't really put the record out of reach.

The consensus at the time was that Wiggins gave up 2-2.5km (!!!!) by doing it in Manchester vs going to Aguas in the first place. I recall reading that he'd had been well over 56 and possibly even 57+ if he'd done it at altitude. I would *assume* the financial incentives of doing it in Manchester were worthwhile, but interesting that he chose that over putting the record out of reach. Makes you wonder if he wanted (or wants) it to be broken...

I do think it would be pretty cool to see a guy like MTM set the record. Him doing what he's doing with a full time (very demanding) job has been a real inspiration to me as I've started my own track racing dreams. I'm following this with great interest.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Based on Alex Simmons' chart, 1.6 km (avg non acclimated) to 2.3 km (average acclimated) could be expected by going to AC (1887 ft) vs sea level. I don't know what the track is like compared to what Martin set his record on, but it looks like it's going to be close.

https://wattmatters.blog/...-record-part-ii.html

Interesting. There's been a "Gentlemen's Agreement" not to go to Aguas for some time with the understanding that once one person does it, everyone will be forced there. It's a great place for an attempt, but not so great for sponsors, media, VIP's, etc. Good move for him, but bad for business. If he does get it, it will be akin to Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's record. Yeah, he beat it, but... Not fair to him, perhaps, but there'll be an asterisk next to it for sure. Either that, or someone will just go down there and reset it not long after, OR, the UCI will pull an Obree on him by invalidating the track for some silly reason. The latter wouldn't surprise me one bit. Heck, I already know the excuse they'll likely use - it's not a fully enclosed/indoor track.

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

*Wiggins was at the Olympic velodrome, Dowsett was at Manchester.

I think Wiggins had a lot of incentive to do it at the Olympic Velodrome, which was sold out. He wouldn't have sold out the Aguas track certainly.

He also got a really bad draw on the day he did it with the pressure. Had he gotten a better day, he'd very possibly have shelved the record. He was a pretty unique individual to attempt it though. (Being both a trackie and a TT specialist)

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

On the other hand, historically a good number of the records were set at altitude, and even now the women's.

also, You never emailed me back Jim

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

I don't see much business involved now, since no one has made a serious attempt in 3 years. Was hoping to see Cancellara give it a shot. Tony Martin doesn't seem interested. Actually no one seems to be interested anymore. If the record gets set in Mexico, that opens it up again. Good for business, IMO.

Sarah Storey might've been able to break the record at Aguas, but the English seem to think it's unsporting to attempt at other than an English track. I had to smack my head when Michael Hutchinson was denigrating Molly van Houweling's record, and called Aguas her "local" track. Berkeley to Aguascalientes is about as far as London to Istanbul.

I agree, although I read or maybe heard she thought it would be a very large (expensive) endeavor to go to altitude, which it definitely is... and goes from expensive to prohibitive if you want to spend 2-3 weeks there trying to adapt to the altitude and squeeze out all of the advantages. She also set some impressive records that will likely stand a long time, so she still had a good, but not perfect, day.

I think Vittoria will likely set the record for the women this year, and then we'll wait for a "big hitter" to take it (Where is Andy dropping vague hints at a K Armstrong attempt?)


I took Hutch's comment to mean she was used to that track since she'd done a lot of her attempts there... but yeah... Aguas definitely isn't a quick jump across the border from the US.

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

Wrong cyclist.

hmm... I'd swear I've seen you mention her before.

Different hint?

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

Molly's record has been broken twice. Bridie O'Donnell broke it a few months later; Evie Stevens now holds it. Bridie set her record near sea level; Evie set it at Colorado Springs.

I wasn't involved in the financial aspects, but I got the impression that a non-negligible part of the expense was getting the UCI officials on site. That's why there have been some "record attempt" days where several riders try to coordinate attempts, and thus share the cost of the track and officials.


Um, no. Molly broke the record the first time she went to Aguascalientes.

Right... I'm not sure what that has to do with what we were talking about though... (which was Sarah Storey and her attempt)



If you're talking about the UCI pro record, it was definitely not until at least her 3rd trip to Aguas. But yes, she did set A record on her first trip... still not sure how that relates to Hutch's comment (which was made after her first trip)

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

Ah, sorry, I read "she" as Molly, not Sarah. I think the issue with Sarah Storey may have been financial: she got support in part by agreeing to televise the attempt when the British public could see it live. The attempt at Aguas would have happened in the middle of the night.




I may be wrong, but I don't recall it that way. She had made a couple of "unofficial" attempts at sea level at Carson, including one that would have broken van Moorsel's record, but it was unofficial because she hadn't been on the bio passport long enough and so hadn't spent the money for UCI accreditation (since it wouldn't have counted anyway). My recollection is that the "UCI-sanctioned" record was the first time at Aguas. But my memory of these things has been known to be wrong.

I would think that the answer would be obvious.

That said, I don't know how seriously the idea was considered.

Erasing records and invalidating tracks just seems like a bad idea to me. Now if they want a "Gentleman' Record", they could agree to running a Merkx record. Make the altitude and equipment as close the Merkx as is reasonable and see what happens. If the "Gentlemen" feel like dethroning the legend than they can have at on similar terms.

Just let the technology do its thing for the regular record. The UCI should learn from their last attempt at regulation, which killed interest in the record for the better part of a decade.

Go MTM

This is very cool for someone with a day job!

It would be great for him to take out Wiggins record..but I think he will be slightly short.
I wouldn't go for a record there without a margin of -1.5km versus slightly above sea level at that average speed.
But I'm conservative and not a risk taker.

Merckx set his record in Mexico City, so it isn't like it's not traditional.

It'll probably be close, but I bet he's about there anyway. More track experience, equipment and position refinements, and more power (the Danish record was set in the off season). He's a smart guy and a regular machine when it's time to perform.

The podcast that Chris Morelock mentioned is here: https://player.fm/...g-and-kevin-metcalfe
Cost ended up being < $2500/person. Less than doing it at CO Springs apparently. MTM said he couldn't go in with a bunch of age-groupers because UCI Elite has different requirements and officials.

Yeah i really hope the record doesn’t fall at altitude.

Who cares if its set at altitude? Merckx set his in Mexico city. Many others have done tried at altitude, some set new marks others failed. Its not as simple as just going to altitude and expecting to be much faster. You must be acclimatized to the effort and the altitude. Its a balancing act

Good Luck Martin, i'll be cheering you on from over here in Aus

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Lucas Hoffman

So short sighted. How fun would a weekend of elite men and women going after the record be? Pick numbers out of a hat to determine order and battle it out!

For those who don't know...Aquascalientes is fast but not just because it's at a perfect altitude, which it is. It's also the average temperature, air density, and fast (but cheap) track surface that all combine to make it faster than any other track in the world.

The town has also embraced athletes coming there for attempts and do a great job hosting them. It's actually a really nice experience.

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Jim Manton / ERO Sports

There will be live video via the UCI with english commentary. One week from today. Time TBD. https://www.facebook.com/Tofthour/

BTW Jim, I do really like your idea! It would be exciting to see a bunch of riders duke it out. I could even see it being a yearly event. The "Hour World Championships" or something.

IIRC, Thomas Dekker didn't go at the "ideal" time: I think he went too early in the day because of broadcast commitments back to Europe.

I think Molly went the same day (?) as Dekker -- if not the same day, it was maybe a day later when the UCI commissionaires were still on site. She went at a better time of day.

Whenever I hear talk about the best time of day, or best day, it's always in regard to air density. At higher temperatures air is less dense. Also you can hope for a barometric pressure on the low side. At or near sea level it makes sense. But if you are already at > 6k ft, you are at the part of the curve where further decreases in air density have little positive effect on speed. Particularly if you are not fully acclimated. I never see it mentioned that power will also be lower if the air density is lower. Surely they aren't forgetting that...? Plus there is the factor of heat having a negative impact on performance. A temperature in the 80s with significant humidity is hot enough to reduce my output in a 1 hr race. I'd prefer if it was <70.

The other factor would be rolling resistance of tires, which would favor higher temperatures. That one isn't going to be a lot on the track, but ... something. Still, I'd want to stay away from temperatures that are high enough that it might impact my performance.

Air density is certainly one of the factors, but when I looked at the problem I was looking at a lot more than just that.

Are the factors you considered secret info...?...;)

A few minutes with google indicates that the O2% doesn't change significantly with temperature, so there is no esoteric bonus there. Humidity will decrease the density of air, but the introduction of H2O vapor will reduce the amount of other air molecules per volume, reducing O2%. So wouldn't high humidity result in an even bigger hit on power output than the change in density would indicate? Why does everyone want higher humidity? It's easier to breathe air that isn't *real* dry but AC isn't dry this time of year.

I'm sure I'm not unique, and I'm also sure that some other teams considered stuff that I didn't even think about -- but I was sorta surprised about what Dekker's team didn't consider.

All happy record attempts are alike; each unhappy record attempt is unhappy in its own way.

I'd like to hear your thoughts too :)

There's lot of stuff to consider with an attempt like this - temperature, air density, O2 availability, track surface and geometry, circadian rhythm, logistics, time available for acclimatization, TV coverage. And probably others I forgot and/or haven't thought about.

This was the best date I could find for this year and I really wanted to get a shot in this year. Summer (in Europe) makes acclimatization a good bit easier as I can go to altitude much closer to home (the Alps) without snow. And it's easier to get time off from work as it's standard procedure to take several weeks off during July in Denmark. Next possibility would have had to be after the racing season ends, so that would have to be around November 1st the earliest - but that would complicate the vacation from work and acclimatization part.

That they have just sanded down the track is definitely not optimal as there's a lot of dust now that seems to slow the track down quite a bit. I hope that can be fixed to some degree the next days.

Oh, and thanks for making this thread, Ron :)

Hey Martin do you listen to Cyclig Time Trial podcast? I think one of the recent ones had a team that went south to Mexico and they had a similar issue with track resurfacing, might give you some insight! Good luck :)

No - was that with Rob Van Houweling? Because he's helping me already :)

Thanks :)

Thanks for the updates.....great to see a guy who has to worry about time off work, where to go close to home for altitude training give this a go. It's almost like your attempt is this stealth Graeme Obree style gig where a regular guy is taking on the protour marquis athletes and no one cares that he's messing around with washing machine bearings until he blows past Rominger and Indurain! Go Martin....take out Wiggins for the working man!

Yes! Great to hear he’s helping, he sounds extremely knowledgeable. Looking forward to this event.

I hope everything goes to plan.

Good luck!

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Developing aero, fit and other fun stuff at Red is Faster

No need -- I gave Rob all the calculations I had done for all the variables we'd thought about. The track had been sanded just before Molly's attempt and I was worried both about dust in the air and also whether it would screw up the Crr estimates that we'd done for the track before the sanding. I had historical records for baro pressure and temp for the dates of the attempt for previous years, plus hourly temp and humidity and rho readings that Rob had collected that week, so I had a reasonable idea how rho and temp would change over the day. What we didn't know was exactly how Molly would respond to the temp. Rob and Molly made the final call about that.

Best of luck!

Glad to hear you made it there! Hope they have a plan for cleaning it up before your run. And don't forget to kick some butt Thurs! Is it Thurs for sure or do you have a couple days window?

Man, that is a lot of dust....
https://www.facebook.com/Tofthour/

It's Thursday for sure. One go. Let's hope it sticks!

It was already a little better today with the dust. 10+W faster today. But they will start the big cleaning tomorrow. It still seems to be ~10W high in Crr compared to what it should be like. Hope we can get most of those 10W before Thursday. The speed today already looked OK though. With 5-10W more I hope to have a little bit of cushion.

He is. And he has been instrumental in getting things up and running on the Mexican side, so to speak. We're really only 5-6 people (including me) that has got this up and running and Rob is one of those people.

Thanks.

And cool that you helped him. Crr seems high still, but hopefully it will get over the next day with removal of the dust.

Temperature will be one of those parameters that will be hard nail down for sure. I have a start time slot of 11-12am local time. Today it was 26C at 11am and 30C at 12am. If it's like that on Thursday it will be a start of 11am for sure.

You need to get a bunch of ST groupies over to clean up the track and wipe the dust off there!!!

By "they" I guess you meant you, Rob, and your coach?...;)

https://www.facebook.com/...26012361235367/?t=16

On target:

Flying!!

If you don't mind me asking what is that app for the splits? Looks useful for track. I notice you have swapped to the walker brother discs too..

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Lucas Hoffman

It was serendipitous. We're all Berkeley faculty (Molly in the Law School, Rob in PoliSci, and me in Demography -- kinda funny that none of us were in Engineering or physics or physiology) and Andres at Beyond Aero connected me to them.

Performance under temp was hard to predict. Molly had done lots of efforts at altitude, she'd done lots of efforts at high temp, but she hadn't done many at altitude at high temp. I did a bunch of calculations balancing off temp and humidity and rho and crr and power and the region of good results seemed larger than the region of bad results, but you never know until you try. They had to make the final call. Afterward, when Rob told me what the actual rho and her actual power had been, I was pretty pleased that the distance calculations were bang on. Science works, bitches.

Heat related performance at altitude should be interesting. As long as the air is below body temperature (sub 38 C) the air is providing a cooling effect, the question is how much. At altitude, at a given true air speed of a rider the air provides less cooling effect than at sea level (conversely you are generating less watts of wasted heat to sustain the same speed at altitude). But in general the air itself will provide less cooling effect at altitude than sea level for a give true air speed, but in practice MTM may be pushing the same number of air molecules out of the way of his body at altitude going faster putting out nearly the same watts. But if he is putting out less watts at altitude, he is generating 4x less heat for the delta watts for a slightly higher true air speed than sea level vs his absolute speed at altitude at sea level watts, so the performance related to heat at altitude may be slightly better if he can ride at lower watts at higher air speed than sea level.

That rationale should work if you know the heat (and humidity) tolerance at sea level. Or rather where heat begins to have a detrimental effect on power production for a 1hr event. It seems to me that optimally you'd want to stay well away from that zone since the advantage of further reducing air density via high temperature is minimal when you are already at altitude. Tire Crr would tend to push you close to that temperature, though.

Also, humidity. Doesn't higher humidity reduce the oxygen in the air? Wouldn't that have a bigger negative effect than the positive of water vapor's lower density? Again particularly at altitude, where additional reductions in density have so little benefit.

Here is a link to the UCI Youtube page. Martin's attempt will begin streaming (with commentary by Molly VH) in roughly 2 hours.

Good luck MTM! #Gofastturnleft

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

Good luck Martin!!

Will be watching today!

Thanks for the link. I'll be watching. Best of luck, Martin!!!

-Eric

Thanks Chris! Little over an hour to go.

53.619 km, 2nd best ever (and new Danish record). Great ride MTM!!!

Dammit! They cut the feed right at the english interview.

Last half looked brutal. Hell of a ride. I wonder if power was less than expected or it was something on the demand side. I don't think going to altitude is quite as advantageous as many believe.

Damn Impressive. My feed kept freezing up.

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

as he said in the interview he started out a bit faster as he wanted, and i think you could see just before the 30 min makr he started to pay for It . i think he had at least 54 k in him.
i think like with everything it depends on the individual for some it works better than for others. the thing is working full time its hard to get enough time to acclamatise for it.
anyway impressive stuff and iam sure he will try again .

Very impressive ride MTM!

Still a huge effort.

Honestly, I think people who finish hour attempts once they are too far behind to get the record are the hardest guys in the sport. Mentally that is so difficult (in my own, way less fast experience at least)

In an hour, if you're really close to the current record you have a huge risk of going too deep too early, and that's something that's impossible to recover from. There's not really anything you can do about that, because you have to ride at least a certain pace (if you're right on the record you can't really expect to lift towards the end) Ideally you'd ride absolutely perfect laps to your planned schedule, but in practice that's very hard to do.

Great effort, now rest up and give us a play by play Martin!

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

Rob Van Houweling told me that he thought that the refinishing of the track make it about 10 watts slower. He and Molly have been down there doing some testing for an attempt that she plans later in the year.

Altitude is much faster. Given that he went close to 2km farther than his previous record I'd guess that MTM agrees also.

Also, from what Molly said in her commentary it was overcast that day and cooler at the start than what he was shooting for. That leads me to believe that the air density was probably a bit higher than he was hoping for.

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Kevin

http://kevinmetcalfe.dreamhosters.com
My Strava

He says he started "too hard" but that he needed to in order to beat the record. No point in showing up and pacing at a rate that would leave him 300m short. I think that means the record pace was too hard for him physically, not that he went harder than he planned. He could have gone >54 with an easier start, but that wasn't why he was there.

He actually went <1.4km farther. With ideal pacing he might have been close to 2km. But based on projections he expected to beat Wiggins, else I don't think he would have gone. If the sanded track is a 10W loss at that speed, it's a pretty big hit on a guy who is fast more from reducing demand than from the supply side. That would account for 0.6-0.7km, so that would do it.

At >6k feet I don't really get why you'd want to reduce air density further with *heat*. Particularly if you aren't well acclimated, the reduction of oxygen just about negates the air resistance gain. And if your power output is negatively effected by the heat then you are losing.

And someone updated the Wikipedia page already. Always amazes me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/...ed_hour_record_(2014–present)

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--Chris

i guess nobody thought it would be easy ...
i mean at the end of the day wigigns was a top track cyclist and time trialer . and i guess lack of velodrom time was maybe as much of a factor than not having it physially ( maybe not his best day either as he did not look too comfortable on the bike at times)

still 2nd fastest time for full time working athlete...

It seems like he did this with not that much time at altitude either. Congrats Martin! Sorry I missed the live feed.

Definitely impressive! I hope he gives it another shot. I know Molly keeps getting faster every time she goes, so there is a learning curve.

I haven't been paying very close attention - how did he attempt to pre-acclimatize? (Did he attempt to pre-acclimatize?)

(I did hypoxic workouts 3 d/wk for 12 wk before each of my trips to Moriarty. Based on tracking my ventilation during exercise, I achieved most of the benefit during the first half, but there was some further adaptation right up until the end. Unfortunately, lifestyle and equipment constraints meant that I couldn't keep increasing the stimulus. In the end, I performed no better than expected on average at that altitude, but given that I experience mild-to-moderate EIAH even at sea level, I consider the protocol I worked out to be effective.)

Didja here her say they wouldn't let her inside, and she had to do her commentary watching her laptop like the rest of us, from the truck outside

That was weird

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Yes, altitude tent for some weeks, plus training in the alps. Molly commented that his coach was well versed in how to acclimate for altitude. But I think this is new to Martin; not something he has done before.

Boardman broke Merckx's record on a 'standard' bike in Manchester.

You'd think the UCI could just make it simple & say the Hour Record must be attempted below 1000m ASL.

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29 years and counting

How is that simple? It rules out lots of people's local tracks. Also, Aguascalientes is mostly unused and is cheap. That's why all the amateurs go there -- it's not just because it's fast. Does it make sense to outlaw the cheap option for a lot of people? Also, even if you restricted altitude, some tracks are still faster than others due to their shape, length, surface, and weather conditions, so you don't get rid of the problem. There would still be a "go to" track for the record. It would just be somewhere else.

You see, you just made it all complicated.

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29 years and counting

No, he simply pointed out the flaws in your argument.

Which is usually what makes the discussion complicated;)

And Sosenka beat Boardman's record in Moscow.

It's interesting to see how the record progressed in the 60s. Ritter went to altitude first, but he still didn't beat the "lowly" Bracke by that much. One could argue that Ritter and Merckx should both have asterisks next to their names, because their records were at altitude, and that Bracke is the guy we should have been honoring for decades. ;

30 October 1967
Ferdi Bracke Olympic Velodrome, Rome 48.093 746 10 October 1968 Ole Ritter Mexico City 48.653 560 25 October 1972 Eddy Merckx Mexico City 49.431 778

In the "open" class, Moser beat Merckx at the Mexico City track, then Obree beat Moser at sea level. No one set a record at altitude after that. Rominger went an amazing 55.291km on a steel frame and standard (tri) position in France. Then Boardman shattered that with a 56.375km in Manchester using a more high tech approach.

Who was busted for doping. Twice.

As much as I worshipped Rominger back in the day, his close association with Ferrari is as good a smoking gun as you'll get.

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29 years and counting

Finally home and somewhat rested before Tour of Denmark that starts tomorrow. Looong way home from Mexico, especially when your last flight gets cancelled and you have to wait 12 hours in Munic airport for the next flight.

I wasn't too lucky with the resurfacing of the track that seemingly increased Crr from ~0.002 to 0.003-0.0035. Along with more altitude-related decrease in power than anticipated it became a little too tall an ask to go 54.5+ km. I'll let Rob Van Houweling keep an eye on the Crr going forward and might go again in Aguascalientes if it 'returns to normal'.

Tough day, but pretty special position to be in to even be a contender for this beast!

Sorry to hear about track conditions. One of those things that is not as controllable as you would think.

Good luck at Tour of Denmark (and World's this fall).

Martin..A big congratulations for your performance ! And an even bigger one for your effort. I'm sorry that you didn't get BW's record.
Those last 30 mins must have been extraordinarily painful. I applaud your effort to stick it out and almost ride a 54!
Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors!

Thanks for letting us in on your experience, Martin! Was great to follow and cheer you on. Just being in a position to try something like that would be a dream for many of us. I hope you give it another go. There's always a bit of a learning curve. Based on my calculations "good" Crr would have made the difference.

Martin, that is huge! Sorry about the situation. You would have done better to have done the Attempt in Colorado Springs but you just did know how bad it was going to be.

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BoulderCyclingCoach.com

So you are saying that CS is currently faster than AQ?
I would like to know what facts that you have to base this statement on?
What Crr numbers are you using for AQ and CO if you know that CS is currently faster?

Thanks In Advance

I have not tested at both tracks with the same tires, temperature, tire pressure etc. but I have tested at CS several time and have a good feel for the Crr.

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BoulderCyclingCoach.com

Colorado Springs is certainly a smooth track, at least for concrete.

That said, the absolute value you derive for Crr based on field testing is strongly dependent upon how you collect and analyze the data. I would therefore be hesitant to compare Crr values across tracks unless the data were collected and analyzed exactly the same way, ideally by the same individual using the same equipment (as you suggest above).

(BTW, when Armstrong was contemplating an attempt on the hour I was contacted by a member of his inner circle, to see which track I thought was the fastest. My suggestion was that cheapest way to answer the question was to send one person on an around-the-world junket to do exactly as described above.)

I'm fairly sure Ferrari was on trackside for his record.

Andrew.. supposing that the Crr of both tracks is currently similar... would the ease of the banking make CO potentially faster? I train on an outdoor track ( 250m with similar banking to AQ)...and it seems that removing that significant force twice every lap could be helpful?
Thanks
Ron..my apologies for using your thread.

I think the „force“ depends only on the curve radius and the speed and not the banking angle.

I think the conventional opinion is that a good wooden track has lower Crr than concrete. But I don't know if that is because of surface quality, or material. You also gain a small advantage on a shorter track in that your CG travels a shorter distance. But this is coming from someone who has never been on a velodrome and is relying on a fuzzy memory, so....

Interesting read here about Dr. Ferrari's collaboration with Rominger to get the record. Written by the doctor himself. In fact his whole website is quite interesting with many detailed articles. Keep in mind Rominger went 735m farther than Wiggins. Luckily for the UCI he used 2 wheel sizes which enabled them to annul his record when the whole hour record thing was reset in 2014.

https://www.53x12.com/...=50&page=article

I've seen it before but omg Indurain's power. 509 watts.
The appliance of "science".

For sure! Incredible the human body could do that.

Unfortunately aero like a brick. Indurain just bludgeoned the air into submission.

Aren't there some trade-offs there? The Cg travels a shorter distance, but the bank turn also creates significant forces that increase Crr (bike gets pushed into the track) during the turn, and the body also has to constantly adjust to brace against the constantly changing forces.

I tend to find 333m tracks more relaxing than 250m. On 250m at >30MPH speed you have to look through the turns and brace the body. It feels like a roller coaster every ~10 seconds. 333m you don't have to look through the turn nearly as much to hold a line, and it just feels easier to me.

I can't comment on speed/energy/Cg-distance differences. That's just my perception.

I'm with you on this one.
The pain in the left quad doing efforts at >30mph on the black line on a 250m was something I had never experienced on a 333m.
Training on a weekly or twice weekly basis has resolved the issue somewhat but it is still a force to be reckoned with...thus my question to Andrew.

Thanks

He just posted on Facebook that he'll be doing another attempt, but to break Bjerg's Danish record at the same location Bjerg did it at

Just saw it as well. Nice little competition going on with the Danish record.

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Happening in 44min. Martin thought this site might be live streaming: https://forside.play.tv2.dk/ Looks like you have to pay to use it. Seems like it would be here though: http://sport.tv2.dk/cykling

Can't get this to play at work. Should have worked from home today.

I'm at home and I can't play it either. Do I need to use a proxy?

EDIT: It's playing in Chrome now.

The second link that rruff posted is working on my phone.

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Strava

Got it to work on Chrome as well and watched the last 5 minutes.

So what was the final distance?

53.975km

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