23 October 2014
IAM Cycling
From its first moments as a member of the professional peloton in January of 2013, IAM Cycling has continually endeavored to raise the bar. Anxious to encourage the beautiful efforts of pure cycling, the Pro Continental team has welcomed Matthias Brändles (25) desire to take on the Longest Hour.
Spurred on by the recent success of Jens Voigt, Brändle is eager to tackle his own attempt at breaking the new UCI record of 51.115 kilometers, which Voigt set on September 18th at the velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland.
Michel Thétaz, the founder of IAM Cycling and the CEO of IAMFUNDS.CH, is himself an avid cyclist, and has the high fitness and lean appearance to prove it. He is also convinced that Brändle, who is a three-time time trial champion for Austria and a breakaway specialist, may well be able to improve on the current record.
The General Manager of IAM Cycling has given the green light to the entire cadre of team helpers who will be essential in putting Matthias Brändle into orbit.
Brändles Dream
On Thursday, October 30, 2014, at 7 in the evening, Matthias Brändle will get into the saddle on the track at the World Cycling Center (CMC) in Aigle, the headquarters of the International Cycling Union (UCI). His sole objective will be to improve upon the current world record time of 51.115 kilometers travelled in one hour. Brändle, who has been training with this goal in mind since the end of his road season at the Tour of Lombardy, is anticipating his date with the track with a mixture of eagerness and serenity.
I am 100% focused on this project, which is very close to my heart. I have decided to try my luck with the record-breaking effort partially because Jens Voigt has been a role model for me since my childhood. His personality and style mark him out as an exceptional man in my mind. He attacks, and then attacks again in any conditions, and fights to exhaustion, knowing that a win in the end remains a small prospect. That mindset has also become my trademark.
After he made his own successful assault on the Hour, I knew I also had to try and match his effort. Within just a few weeks, I surprised myself since I was dreaming his dream for myself. Just imagine if I have what it takes to match and improve upon his performance in time and meters. In spite of what happened at the Worlds in Ponferrada (Spain), I stayed calm. It even encouraged me even more to try my luck. I sit here today not knowing whether I can beat the mark or not. But as usual, it will be a very personal struggle between me and the clock. And just for that, I am really looking forward to the day!
The UCI Agile track as a common denominator
IAM Cycling has not chosen the venue for this attempt lightly. As the Swiss Pro Continental team has been headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland, since its inception, the team feels a special responsibility to support the cycling initiatives based in Romandy, the French-speaking part of the country.
The UCIs World Cycling Center (CMC) track remains a center for high-level competition and training. Inaugurated in 2002, every year the facility hosts an enormous number of athletes from around the world, who devote all their time and efforts to their training and careers.
The CMC trains and develops a hundred athletes a year in three different Olympic disciplines (road, track and BMX).
Designed and developed by Ralph Schürmann, a world-renowned velodrome designer, the CMC is unique in its design since it is suitable for both speed and endurance disciplines. While offering the greatest security guarantees, its relatively round profile is suitable for all disciplines. Its lines are sufficiently long, though, to provide a sprinter with the sort of length needed to maximize efforts. With the carefully selected Siberian pine used for the boards, finished by hand, the velodrome in Aigle will provide the ideal smooth surface Brändle will need to reach the greatest speeds possible.
This effort is very important for IAM Cycling. To make the attempt on a track in the back yard of the UCI will ensure visibility, while an IAM Cyclist could enter into the history books with a successful attempt. It is also hoped that such an effort will spur and encourage similar attempts on the same track.
Scott refined the details of its new Scott Plasma 5
Crowned at the most recent World Championship Triathlon in Hawaii, the new Scott Plasma 5 has continued to astonish those in the know since its introduction to the markets last June; it has proved its right to sit alongside the fastest time trial bikes on the market.
The bike has been specially developed to perform perfectly on a 200 meter long track. Taking the current standard version as a base-line, it has been relieved of unnecessary bulk and weight to provide clean lines and reduced heft, while still keeping within the UCI legal limits. Naturally with a fixed gear, no brakes, and an aggressive, nearly time trial position, the Scott Plasma 5 can be taken into any challenge against the clock with ultimate confidence.
