Related Articles
When former US time trial champion Tom Zirbel decided it was time to hang up his racing wheels after a decade of competing around the world, the 38-year-old from Michigan knew he still had some unfinished business in the sport.
Zirbel and Rally Cycling, his trade team since 2012, came up with a plan to give the powerful American one last hurrah in the spotlight and a final push to establish his place in US cycling lore. Zirbel set his sights on the 20-year-old American Hour Record set by Norm Alvis in 1997.
Zirbel and his Rally support crew traveled to Aguascalientes, Mexico, to tackle the challenge on September 16, hoping to break Alvis' mark of 51.505km and find out how close Zirbel could get to the current UCI Hour Record set by Bradley Wiggins in June of 2015 at 54.526.
Zirbel smashed Alvis' record with a distance of 53.037 and set the second-longest mark internationally behind Wiggins, a multiple Olympic gold medalist, world champion and winner of the 2012 Tour de France.
In this documentary produced by Rally Cycling, Zirbel discusses his hour attempt, his plans for retirement and the inevitable changes to his personal life.