Voigt was expected to break the record, though it wasn't certain, not when the previous record was set by Oleg Sosenka, a rider who had previously been under suspicion of EPO use and who would later go on to fail a drugs test, and not when the current effort was being attempted by a rider who had just turned 43 years of age the day before. But Jens smashed it with a distance of 51.115 kilometres, further than many, including himself, had expected.
All throughout his ride he was on pace for the record yet when some wondered whether he was on the verge of tiring and whether it might turn into a battle to achieve the great feat, he upped his speed and only moved clear. Gritting his teeth, no doubt shouting 'shut up legs', Voigt reminded himself that this was one last effort before a life in retirement; one last turn of suffering, and with it his average speed rose up over 50.5km/h and on over 51km/h.
By comparison to Sosenka, Boardman and Merckx, Voigt's first kilometre was standard enough. 1:15, equal to Sosenka, two seconds quicker than Boardman, but a staggering five seconds slower than Merckx. It's well known that Merckx flew out of the gate setting a first kilometre equal to that of someone going for a 4km pursuit rather than World Hour record and that it caught up with him later in the hour.
By five kilomeres Voigt was again equal to Sosenka with a time of 6:00, four seconds up on Boardman; five seconds down on Merckx. By ten kilometres Voigt was two seconds ahead of Boardman, a second behind Sosenka, and eight seconds behind the Cannibal.
It was around here that Merckx began to tire and after the 20km mark he had slipped back to a time equal to that of Boardman but now trailing both Sosenka and Voigt by three seconds.
Voigt then began to open the burners and at the next checkpoint of 30km he was a massive 34 seconds ahead of Sosenka who himself had gone through 12 seconds up on Boardman and 14 seconds up on Merckx.
By the 40km mark Voigt was all but assured of the record baring a complete capitulation. He now led Sosenka by almost a full minute with Boardman's record only a second up on Merckx's but 1 minute 17 seconds down on Voigt's new standard.
When the gun went off to signal the record had broken, Voigt was still able to ride another 1.415 kilometres, pushing the record further and further out of reach with each final turns of his pedals.
His time still fell well short of records set in the 1990s by the likes of Graeme Obree, Chris Boardman, Miguel Indurain and Tony Rominger, on super bikes later deemed illegal by the UCI for their official record. That was the last time that this record truly captured the public's imagination; a long time ago when you think that children unborn then are now entering university.
When the UCI put those 1990 times into a category of 'best human effort' and reverted the official UCI record back to Eddy Merckx from 1972 when he went 49.431km, requiring those attempting the record to do it on a Merckx style bike. Boardman returned in 2000 to take the record by a mere ten metres before Sosenka broke it with a distance of 49.7km in 2005. But the record no longer seemed to hold the public's attention and nor the interest of the riders until earlier this year when the UCI relaxed the rules to allow any bike deemed legal for current track competition, thus opening the door for new attempts. And Voigt was the first to step through.
With modernised regulations for the bikes that can be used and a more scrutinised sport it really feels like this record has been reset with a new benchmark. Sure it would be nice to see the modern cyclist ride the same bike as Merckx but generations and technologies change with the eras and like any sport where we could love to know for sure how the best of today stacked up against the greats of yesteryear, it isn't realistic. Even when Boardman and Sosenka tackled the record on a Merckx like bike they did so with aero-helmets, clipless pedals and bladed spokes, backed with modern training techniques and nutrition.
The sudden interest in Voigt's attempt proved just how special this record truly is for cycling and while Voigt's new benchmark was beyond what many expected and will certainly be tough to beat, it isn't impossible and Voigt's lasting legacy to the record may be that he stokes the competitive juices of others like Wiggins, Tony Martin or Cancellara, to come out and try break it for themselves.
Voigt's time checks against previous records:
DIST. MERCKX BOARDMAN SOSENKA VOIGT 1km 01:09.97 01:17.89 01:15.01 01:15.00 5km 05:55.60 06:04.01 06:00.42 06:00.94 10km 11:53.20 12:03.88 12:00.59 12:01.34 20km 24:06.80 24:06.07 24.03.05 24:03.57 30km 36:20.20 36:18.40 36:06.73 35:32.76 40km 48:34.43 48:33.40 48:15.32 47:16.67 DIST. 49.431km 49.441km 49.700km 51.115km
