- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The contrast could not be more stark – a week after a shattered Jack Bobridge had to be helped off the bike, fellow Australian Rohan Dennis hoisted his aloft in triumph.
Cycling’s hour of hurt is one of the sport’s most gruelling tests physically and mentally.
Dennis rode 52.491km at the Grenchen velodrome in Switzerland on Sunday night (AEDT) to set the new benchmark.
He beat the 51.852km that Austrian Matthias Brandle rode last October.
It also comes a week after Bobridge narrowly failed to break the world record, posting 51.3km in Melbourne.
The effort left Bobridge vomiting repeatedly and he described it as the closest he had come to dying.
While setting the record also clearly punished Dennis, he had enough energy to climb off the bike and then hold it above his head.
Newly-retired BMC teammate and compatriot Cadel Evans was trackside to witness the success.
“I am pretty tired but really, really proud,” Dennis said.
“BMC made it easy – the whole week leading into this was very stress-less.
“There was no pressure, it was perfect for me.
“It almost felt easy, although it wasn’t. It is great.”
Bobridge ultimately paid for having too much ambition – he went out hard, trying to blow the record out of the water, and his ride became a torture.
He is likely to make another attempt after the Rio Olympics.
Dennis was more measured and his average speed only dropped slightly in the crucial last 10 minutes.
But his record will probably not last long.
Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins will also go for the record later this year and Dutchman Thomas Dekker is also scheduled for an attempt on February 25.
“Wiggins is the main rider to be able to beat me,” Dennis said.
“There’s also (Thomas) Dekker, we have to see what the altitude in Mexico can bring.”
Last year, cycling’s world governing body revised the rules for the hour record and this has prompted a spate of attempts.
Popular German Jens Voigt ended his career by posting 51.115km last September and Brandle quickly broke that mark.
Regardless of how long Dennis holds the hour record, breaking it is another major landmark in the 24-year-old’s emerging career.
He is a two-time world track champion in the team pursuit and also won a silver medal in the same event at the London Olympics.
The world record came a fortnight after he was a surprise winner of Adelaide’s Tour Down Under.
Last year was marked by a string of second placings, including silver at the Glagsow Commonwealth Games, and a surprise late-season transfer from Garmin-Sharp to BMC.
Fancy a wager on your favourite sport? Head on over to PlayUp for great odds and friendly customer service and pick a winner. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.