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World Hour Record attemptMelbourne, Australia, October 18, 2000The local time in Melbourne is |
Live report10:30 ESST - Scheduled start The record (we think!) is 43.08292 km, set by Cornelia Van Oosten-Hage on September 16, 1978. Can Anna Wilson better this on her "standard" track bike? It is a steel pan-brown Perkins (Columbus frame) on a 92 inch gear, and standard unbladed spoked wheels (box section rims). The tires are Continentals. Picture:
Anna Wilson warms up on her road bike (photo: Tom Balks) She has just started. Her schedule is 25 seconds for the first lap (250m laps), then 20.85 seconds average for the remainder. She plans to ride close to 21 seconds for the first 15 minutes, then step it up a little. A rough calculation over the hour gives 43.165 kilometres for this schedule. 10:40 ESST In the first three laps, she was on 20.6 seconds per lap, but she is settling down now into a rhythm. This is the first serious hour record attempt for many years on such a bike, and it will be an interesting benchmark, should she complete it. Picture: Anna Wilson looking smooth after 10 minutes (photo: Tom Balks) 10:50 ESST After 20 minutes, she is averaging 43.33 km/h, and is ahead of her schedule. More people are starting to trickle into the velodrome and the tension is mounting. Picture: Anna Wilson out of the saddle after 20 minutes (photo: Tom Balks) 11:00 ESST Anna Wilson is looking more comfortable now after 30 minutes. She has covered almost 87 laps (21.75 km), an average of 43.38 km/h and is well above schedule. Picture: After 32 minutes, an inside view of the 'drome. Note, similarity to Star Wars set. (photo: Tom Balks) 11:10 ESST Wilson is still looking great with 20 minutes to go and is being urged on by the crowd. The average after 40 minutes is 43.4 km/h. This equals 116 laps at 20.7 seconds per lap. A little more on the gear ratio: A 92 inch gear was chosen to correspond with a 99 rpm pedalling cadence. Picture: 40 minutes: fighting hard. (photo: Tom Balks) 11:20 ESST After 50 minutes, she has completed 145 laps at an average of 43.43 km/h. Her fastest lap so far has been 20.11 seconds. She's getting a lot of support now for those last 10 minutes. Picture: Anna against the track after 50 minutes. (photo: Tom Balks) 11:25 ESST She's "hurting severely now" according to coach and partner, Dave Millward. 5 minutes to go. 11:30 ESST The gun goes off to signify the end of the attempt. The distance? 174 laps = 43.5 kilometres. A new mark has been set! Picture:
Post ride, dizzy with success. (photo: John Doggett-Williams) She actually finished the hour fractionally after the finish line of lap 174, but the exact distance was be calculated on the basis of her subsquent lap: 43.501 kilometres. The UCI may take up to 3 weeks to ratify the attempt, dependent on the drug test and the commissaire's track report. Cyclingnews.com spoke with the UCI commissaire, Karen O'Callaghan after the attempt to discuss the technical specifications of the bike in more detail. The frame has to be triangular, made of steel, with tubes between 2.5 and 8 cm thickness. The wheels have to be identically sized, with no fewer than 18 (unbladed) spokes and the rim no deeper than 13mm. |