Cycling Records - Hour Records

Hour Records

The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. The most famous type of record is for upright bicycles meeting the requirements of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) for old or modern bicycles. The old "UCI hour record" restricts competitors to use similar equipment as was used by Eddy Merckx in 1972, disallowing time trial helmets, disc or tri-spoke wheels, aerodynamic bars and monocoque frames. The new "Best Human Effort", also called "UCI Absolute Record" allows such equipment. Hour-record attempts are made in a velodrome, frequently at high elevation for the aerodynamic benefit of thinner air.

Another type of record registered by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (IHPVA) is for 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 fiber, Kevlar, or Fiberglass to reduce air resistance.

The current hour records are:

• Fracesco Russo of Switzerland set a new World Record by covering 56.89 miles (91.556 km) in one hour at the DEKRA test track in Germany on 2 August 2011
• UCI "Best human effort": Chris Boardman, 1996, 56.375 km (35.03 miles)
• UCI hour record: Ondřej Sosenka, 2005, 49.700 km (30.882 miles)
• IHPVA: Damjan Zabovnik, 2008, 87.123 km (on 19 July 2009 Sam Whittingham has achieved 90.598 km, but this record is pending approval by IHPVA and WHPVA committees)