The Swiss Fabian Cancellara (Trek) is putting his planned hourly world record attempt on hold for the time being. A date in August was originally planned [Link], but recent statements by UCI President Brian Cookson have now led to a rethink.
Cookson told VeloNews in February that he considers the rule that has been in force since 2000, which prescribes the use of wheels for hour world record attempts, as they were used in Eddy Merckx's day, to be outdated.
The rule was introduced after more and more radical models enriched the hunt for hours on the ovals in the 1990s. For example, Chris Boardman used the now legendary Lotus-Wheel. Graeme Obree led at the time Superman-position one.
Since the introduction of the rule in 2000, only Boardman, with 49.441 kilometers in the same year, and Ondrej Sosenka, with 49.700 kilometers in 2005, have managed to better the Merckx' record.
Should the UCI introduce a new rule, the team around three-time time trial world champion Cancellara would be faced with a new task. Team manager Luca Guercilena told Cycling Weekly that they were initially waiting for a reaction from the UCI. "As soon as we know more, we can move forward with our plans." This approach is understandable, after all, Cookson considered wanting to allow time trial bikes again. In this respect, however, it is uncertain whether the record set by the Swiss Tony Rominger in 1994, in which he covered 55.291 kilometers, or the Boardmans brand from 1996, in which the Briton covered 56.375 kilometers, applies.