Spartacus and retirement

[bikinchris]

I would guess Fabian Cancellara will make an hour attempt before retirement.
I would love it if he did TWO hour attempts. The second attempt on a recumbent. Maybe an easy racer with a fairing and skirts.

[John H.]

He should call it good right now.
2nd gold medal in hand, no scandals...
Get out while the getting is good-

[unterhausen]

I don't think you can just switch over to a 'bent without losing quite a bit of performance. I was surprised recently when I saw that the 'bent hour record is slower than Boardman's record.

[jlwdm]

He should call it good right now.
2nd gold medal in hand, no scandals...
Get out while the getting is good-

Agreed. He has had a tough year and should get out with a big win.

Jeff

[doomridesout]

Chapeau to him. Really strong ride today.

[cachagua]

I second the chapeau. He should retire to a tiny hamlet in the mountains and let his moustache luxuriate, and he should not EVER come on TV for the Swiss equivalent of Icy Hot.

And he should follow the example of Mr. Velotel, and ride unbelievably awesome rides just for fun, and take photos while on these rides, and write 'em up and post 'em here.

Is what he should do.

[MattTuck]

I would guess Fabian Cancellara will make an hour attempt before retirement.
I would love it if he did TWO hour attempts. The second attempt on a recumbent. Maybe an easy racer with a fairing and skirts.

I agree on the two attempts. But the second one should be with a Merckx rules bike.

[chiasticon]

I agree on the two attempts. But the second one should be with a Merckx rules bike.he has said before that he started training for the hour with the Merckx bike rules, complete with custom bikes from Trek and a lot of assistance from them in testing best equipment, conditions, etc. then they changed the rules, everyone started going at it, and he lost interest. apparently the Merckx one was just more interesting to him. or maybe he wanted to compare himself to that metric more. who knows?

but yeah, I agree he should retire as is. he's achieved quite a lot. doesn't need the hour.

[MattTuck]

he has said before that he started training for the hour with the Merckx bike rules, complete with custom bikes from Trek and a lot of assistance from them in testing best equipment, conditions, etc. then they changed the rules, everyone started going at it, and he lost interest. apparently the Merckx one was just more interesting to him. or maybe he wanted to compare himself to that metric more. who knows?

but yeah, I agree he should retire as is. he's achieved quite a lot. doesn't need the hour.

Yes, that is why I think he should do the hour record using the old rules. The UCI basically came in and messed with the rules to create a spectacle of the hour record, ie. a rush of new attempts that had no real relation to the historical record. It is essentially a new competition, with no comparison to the attempts under the old rules.

That is why, in my opinion, Cancellara could give a big middle finger to the UCI by doing the attempt using the old rules. Obviously, the UCI would never sanction it, he'd have to get some independent lab and/or organization to verify it. But if he were able to set a new mark, it would basically highlight the UCI's arbitrary rule change, and also call into question any of the new 'records' under the new rules as being of questionable significance.