Brändle breaks Voigt's hour record

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Matthias Brändle became the second rider this year to break the UCI's new hour record. Riding on a modified Scott Plasma 5 with double disc wheels on the 200m track in Aigle, Switzerland, the 24-year-old Austrian bested Voigt's mark by more than 700m over the hour to chalk himself into the sport's records.

Brändle covered 51.852 kilometers, with the distance and the record still pending ratification by the UCI.

"I feel really great, but during the race it was so hard," Brändle said after the race. "It was good there were so many people here supporting me, because I had a difficult period in the middle of the race where I suffered. I had to go a few laps a little easier, but I could find my rhythm again, and bring it to the end.

"The closer the hour comes, the easier it is, because you know it is coming to an end and you can handle the pain. First I was sure with 30 minutes that I could do it, but then I had a difficult period. I hoped I could recover, and in the end it was enough. I'm really happy about it."

After the UCI revised the rules pertaining to the hour record in June, allowing equipment which is considered legal for regular track team and individual pursuits, Voigt was the first to surpass the last record, which was set by Ondrej Sosenka in 2005 on a standard bike with no aerodynamic enhancements.

Voigt covered 51.11km over his hour, breaking Sosenka's 49.7km, speeding up over the course of the final minutes, but Brändle faded over the final quarter hour, dropping from an average speed of over 52kph, becoming increasingly ragged over the last 10 minutes, but rallying to hold onto a generous margin of victory.