Merckx: Bradley Wiggins 'cannot afford to fail' in Hour Record ride
Lesser names can miss the mark but Bradley Wiggins has a reputation to protect, says Eddy Merckx

Bradley Wiggins in the Elite Mens TT at the 2014 World Road Championships. Photo: Graham Watson

Bradley Wiggins must beat the Hour Record if he attempts it this summer because failure would tarnish his palmarès, says Eddy Merckx.
"If you're nobody and you don't beat it, there's no problem, but if Wiggins attacks the Hour Record, he has to beat it," Merckx told Cycling Weekly.
"It was the same way with me because I'd already won the Tour de France two or three times, the Tour of Italy, the classics and things like that. The journalists in Mexico thought I couldn't beat it. I knew that I had to if I went for it. I also felt that my career wouldn't be complete if I didn't break the Hour Record."
>>> How they used to train: Eddy Merckx's chain gang
Merckx dominated cycling through the 1960s and 1970s and won all three Grand Tours and every major classic. He is regarded as cycling's greatest cyclist ever.
He rode 49.431 kilometres in Mexico City in 1972 when he attempted, and broke, the Hour Record that had been held by greats such as Fausto Coppi and Jacques Anquetil. That record became cycling's benchmark when in 2000 the governing body changed the rules to limit positions and bikes that cyclists could use.
After a rule change in May 2014 that allowed pursuit-style bikes, cyclists began planning and attempting the record again. German Jens Voigt marked his retirement with a ride of 51.110 kilometres. Austrian Matthias Brändle (IAM Cycling) went next and set the current record of 51.852.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Jack Bobridge (Budget Forklifts), however, finished around 500 metres short in his attempt on Saturday in Melbourne. That is something Wiggins cannot afford, said Merckx.
"Wiggins should break it, though. For sure," Merckx continued.
"I agree [he will set an untouchable record]. I think 55 kilometres is too much. It is too much in one hour, even for Wiggins, who's an exceptional athlete."
Wiggins will reportedly attempt the Hour Record in June in the Lee Valley Velodrome used for the 2012 London Olympics. The track runs for 250 metres.
"If I was going to do the hour record again today then I'd do it in a closed velodrome, but on a track like in Moscow, a track that's 333 metres,” added Merckx. “The bigger the track the better it is for pushing through the curves."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
Wout van Aert wins sensational Giro d'Italia stage nine over the gravel as Isaac Del Toro moves into pink
Exhilarating stage saw Primož Roglič and Tom Pidcock lose time after a crash on the strade bianche
-
Demi Vollering crushes rivals on final stage to claim overall victory at Itzulia Women
FDJ-suez rider wins the race for the third time after Mischa Bredewold was victorious in the opening two stages
-
French kit brand Ekoï launches kit collaboration with Bradley Wiggins
Wiggins says partnership is his 'reintroduction to cycling' and marks the second phase of his life
-
'I was doing loads of cocaine... my kids were going to put me into rehab': Bradley Wiggins on recreational drug use, Lance Armstrong's help and finding a new love for cycling
Wiggins opens up on the personal trauma which engulfed him post-retirement and put him in some 'very dangerous' situations after he became addicted to cocaine
-
Vittoria Bussi breaks UCI Hour Record for third time, dedicates it to her two cats
History-making 38-year-old betters own benchmark by almost 200m
-
Hour Record holder comes out of retirement for two new world record attempts
Vittoria Bussi set for another swing at the Hour this month, as well as the 4km individual pursuit
-
Eddy Merckx hospitalised after bike crash
79-year-old cycling legend required to undergo surgery on broken hip
-
'Lance has helped me a lot in recent years' - Armstrong offered to pay for Bradley Wiggins' therapy
2012 Tour de France winner says he is in the 'best place' he has been his whole life in interview
-
Claims against bankrupt Sir Bradley Wiggins’s estate double to £2m
Wiggins’s efforts to pursue money through the courts have been paused
-
90-year-old cyclist sets sights on four world records
Three-time Masters world champion Walter Fowler is far from ready to slow down yet