Posted on 09/18/2014 10:05:07 AM PDT by pikachu
Live coverage of Jens Voght's attempt to break the one hour bicycling record.
(Excerpt) Read more at trekbikes.com ...
I’ve done 50 km in under 12 mins using just my *right* foot. ;-)
THAT is really funny. What is bike racing without the PEDs?
To understand how impressive this is, play with the bicycle and power calculator at this website…. http://bikecalculator.com/index.html Using the sliding red button on the detailed calculator after the data is entered, you will quickly find out that 50 kph is off of the chart so that ought to tell you something right there. The highest speed for which power can be established using this calculator is 44.45…. Just to see what the calculated relationship is between speed and power, input the data for 22 kph which is half of the maximum value that the calculator goes to and what you will find is that the power at 22 kph is approximately 1/6 of the power at 44. In other words, doubling bicycling speed requires approximately 6 times the power (this is not definitive but a good rule of thumb). Now consider that a ‘typical person’ in decent shape should be able to average 25 kph….For that typical person be able to keep up with Jens Vogt, he’d have to be able to generate the pedal power of 6 people. There are lots of things that would have to be taken into consideration to refine this further but this should be a quick means of setting some context for what he did.
Ummm ... Tous dope.
Logically power should go up as the cube of speed since drag increases as the square of speed. If all the other factors were equal, that would mean that power would be 8 times as great if the speed was doubled.... hmmmmm.... more research and math required.
Grass growing? Paint drying (already mentioned in-thread)? Chinese people commuting? Tour de France competitors crying because the doc didn't show up this morning?
Sadly, all of the above.
And you can’t overlook the fact Jens is 42 years old. The tours will certainly miss him. I loved watching him attack at the least likely spots, and hold off the peloton on his own.
As the FR peloton followed Jens through his final tour this year we saw him display the heart of a lion on several stages with mountain attacks on successive days and a long, but unsuccessful solo breakaway. Sport is flavored with both victory and disappointment and it was clear the Jens wanted more out of his final tour.
The one hour record is one of the most treasured in cycling. It is a perfect ending to the career of a man who gained most of his recognition through individual efforts while being a highly respected team player throughout his career.
Salud Jens....
A great competitor with the heart of a Lion.
I’ll second that.
The Hour. Jeez, the guys who have chased and stomped that record over the years. Names all cycling fans know, I won’t even try to take a stab at all of them, but my hat is off to Voigt. That is a LOOOOONG row to hoe.
And to put a finger in the eyes of the naysayers, I’ll bet he peed clean!
Did you see the interview he did during the USA Pro Challenge here in Colorado? I watched it over and over b/c it was so funny. He said he would have loved to have been born a sprinter: hang in the back, sprint in the end, win, get all the girls- but he said he was “born with a big engine”. He also said he was terrified at the thought that from now going forward he would be “fatter and weaker”.
So funny! I hope he goes into commentating. He is a real class act.
I am sorry I missed that. I only saw one day of the US Pro. Maybe I can find his interview on You Tube.
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