Jens Voigt’s Hour Record attempt: Why it matters

Jens Voigt's attempt on the Hour record on Thursday has reignited interest in the iconic challenge

Jens Voigt at Grenchen Photo: Maxime Schmid

(Image credit: MAXIME SCHMID)

Jens Voigt can beat the one hour record in under 60 minutes,” reads the print along the top tube of his specially designed Hour Record bike. That’s the plan, anyway. Early Thursday evening, Voigt and his bike will be lapping the Velodrome Suisse at Grenchen, Switzerland, at around 50 kilometres per hour, perhaps more, and at some point before his 60 minutes are up, when he passes Ondrej Sosenka’s mark of 49.700 kilometres, he will become the new Hour Record Holder. How much further he’ll ride in the allotted time, we don’t know yet, but if all goes to plan, we’ll be celebrating the end of an illustrious career, and, perhaps a rebirth in interest in an illustrious cycling record.

Voigt has made a career out of defying time – his career as a professional stretches back 17 seasons to 1998 (and he was a comparatively late bloomer, turning pro at 26). It’s fitting that his last act as a professional athlete will be one final race against time, and against himself. He has also made a career out of ostentatiously visible suffering – either Voigt actually enjoys the agony of racing bikes or he’s simply good at conquering pain.

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