Hour record

[3] The first officially recognised record was set by Henri Desgrange at the Buffalo Velodrome, Paris in 1893 following the formation of the International Cycling Association, the forerunner of the modern-day UCI.

Throughout the run up to the First World War, the record was broken on five occasions by Swiss rider Oscar Egg and Frenchman Marcel Berthet, and due to the attempts being highly popular and guaranteeing rich attendances, it is said that each ensured he did not beat the record by too much of a margin, enabling further lucrative attempts by the other.

Coppi's record set in 1942, during the Second World War, despite Milan being bombed nightly by Allied forces, was eventually broken in 1956 by Jacques Anquetil on his third attempt.

[citation needed] The women's hour record was first established in 1893 by Mlle de Saint-Sauveur at the Vélodrome Buffalo in Paris, setting a total distance of 26.012 km (16.163 mi).

[5] In 1911 the longest standing men's or women's record (37 years) was set by the 157 cm (5 ft 2 in) tall Alfonsina Strada: 37.192 km (23.110 mi) riding a 20 kg (44 lbs) machine.

In 1972, Eddy Merckx set a new hour record at 49.431 km (30.715 mi) in Mexico City at an altitude of 2,300 m (7,500 ft) where he proclaimed it to have been "the hardest ride I have ever done".

Moser beat his 1984 record, using bullhorn handlebars, steel airfoil tubing, disk wheels and skinsuit.

In 2000, Boardman attempted the UCI record on a traditional bike, and rode 49.441 km (30.721 mi), topping Merckx by 10 metres (32.8 ft), an improvement of 0.02%.

However, Sosenka failed a doping control in 2001 and then again in 2008, the latter resulting in a career-ending suspension which puts in doubt the validity of his record.

[26][27] Under the new regulations riders may use any bike allowed by the UCI standards for endurance track events in place at the time of the attempt.

Following the change in the rules, German Jens Voigt became the first rider to attempt the hour, on 18 September 2014 at the Velodrome Suisse, Grenchen, Switzerland.

[12] On 30 October 2014, Matthias Brändle set a new record of 51.852 km (32.219 mi) at the World Cycling Center in Aigle, Switzerland.

Further attempts by Australians Jack Bobridge and Rohan Dennis, and the Dutchman Thomas Dekker came within a few weeks, between 31 January and 25 February 2015.

[34] Having postponed an earlier scheduled attempt due to a broken collarbone incurred in a crash while training, British cyclist Alex Dowsett exceeded Dennis's mark, with a new record of 52.937 km (32.894 mi), at Manchester Velodrome on 2 May 2015.

[35] On 7 June 2015, Sir Bradley Wiggins broke Dowsett's record, by completing a distance of 54.526 km (33.881 mi) at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London.

The last women's hour record before the unified rule change was set on 1 October 2003 by Leontien van Moorsel, with a distance of 46.065 km (28.623 mi).

In December 2014, it was announced that British Paralympian Sarah Storey would be the first woman to attempt the record following the unified rule change.

[79] American Molly Shaffer Van Houweling broke the women's UCI Hour Record, riding a distance of 46.273 km (28.753 mi) on 12 September 2015 in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

[83] In October 2015, Australian rider Bridie O'Donnell announced her intention to aim for the hour record in January 2016.