Cleave

Hi,

Thought this might be of general interest to the folks in this sub forum. On Sunday, January 29th, a fellow Southern Californian and racing acquaintance, Keith Ketterer (aka KK) succeeded in setting a new UCI (International Cycling Union) world record for the Hour for Masters Men age 55-59. KK also holds the record for the 50-54 age range.

The Hour Record is one of the classic records that defines our sport. There was a time when professionals regularly attempted to break the record. During that late and early 1970s there was a string of records set between Ferdi Bracke (Belgium), Ole Ritter (Denmark), and Eddy Merckx (Belgium). Merckx held the record of 49.431 Km for 12 years until Francesco Moser set a record of 50.808 Km on a "funny bike" with two disc wheels. Ultimately, the UCI segregated Moser's record and subsequent records where riders used the "Superman" position (pioneered by Graeme Obree) and "non-standard" bikes as "Best Hour Performance" which Chris Boardman holds at 56.375 Km (1996).

The current Hour Record holder is Ondřej Sosenka (Czech Republic) who set the record at 49.700 Km in 2005.

KK's unofficial record is 45.019 Km (27.973 miles). His 50-54 record is 45.386 Km. KK's current racing age is 57.

A few photos:





The last photo is KK on the lap that broke the previous record.

It was great to be there to see him set the record as I'd missed his previous record ride in 2009.

BTW, this is the same facility (Velo Sports Center previously known as the Home Depot Center Velodrome) that I train at regularly and where Hermes and Velo Diva like to spend their SoCal vacation time.

qcpmsame 

Wow, elite company you keep. Way to go KK! Representin!!!

AzTallRider

That's fast. Looks like a lot of gear inches?

jmccain

That's cool - I like his Breakaway from Cancer sponsorship/jersey.

Cleave

Hi qcpmsame, I only keep this company by living in the right place and by coincidence of my age.

AzTR, I was wondering the same thing. He wasn't slogging the gear but he certainly wasn't at 120 rpm. I'll ask Roger Young, I'm sure he knows.

Hi jmccain, KK is part of the Breakaway - UBS Elite Masters Racing team (https://bfc-ubs.org/). There are a bunch of really fast 50+ guys on that team. I have a casual friendship with one of them but they are on a completely different level than me and my Masters teammates.

ericm979

Those are some serious leg veins.

Hermes

Great photos Cleave. It is not easy to get well lit images at HDC. We were at HDC over Christmas and the middle of January. We saw KK's practice attempt and dress rehearsal for the attempt. He got the record both times. We watched the event on the computer from our hotel room in Park City, UT (ski week). He raced a fantastic race and we are really happy for him.

The one hour world record is the Holy Grail of cycling. It is so tough. I think the fixed gear bike and the requirement to ride the black line for over 160 laps is mentally over the top.

Besides holding two One Hour World records, KK won three gold medals at Masters Track Worlds two years ago.

Last year, my wife and I had the privilege of training in the same group at HDC with KK during Roger Young's training sessions. Training along side racers of his caliber is very inspiring and we learned a lot. KK helped us with our technique and racing. Great guy.

George

That's Cleave, I wonder how big his chain ring is.