Many thanks for all your kind comments. It is now 1972 and the hour is still held by Ole Ritter. Eddy Merckx had been racing from February to October and more importantly winning: Three Spring Cassics, Giro-Tour double, and the Tour of Lombardy on Saturday Oct.7th. The following day he won the two part Lausanne race in the morning and a criterium at Sallanches in the afternoon! He arrived back in Milan on Monday morning, and on Wednesday he raced in the 2-up Barrachi trophy time trial. His partner was his team-mate Roger Swerts. Using a top gear of 54x13 (112 inches) they completed the 109k course between Bergamo & Brescia at a speed of 48.416 km-hr, their winning margin was by more than 2 minutes. They just failed to beat the the race record despite lousy weather, wet and windy. No way to prepare for an attack on a record that needed weeks of careful preparation. The day after the Baracchi win Merckx tested at the Vigorelli track. A special bicycle was used weighing 13lbs. which was built by Ernesto Colnago. Present at the track was Ole Ritter who said "On his latest road form and taking into account his class, Merckx could do 49.400k in the hour. If so I will return to Mexico at the first chance to regain my record". During the next week at home in Belgium, Merckx trained every day on the Ghent indoor track. He took this time to make certain his position was perfect on his new bike. He also did acclimatization by training on a home-trainer wearing a special face mask to replicate the rarefied air of Mexico City. October 21st. Merckx flies from Brussels for his most difficult ride. All formal preparations for his record ride had been made prior to his flight. This is because they thought he would go as quickly as possible for the record after arriving. For two days heavy rain showers played havoc with his training. The third day was dry and when he woke at 5am on Wednesday Oct. 25th Merckx decided to go for it. By 6.45am he was warming up on the Olympic velodrome behind a small motorcycle. Two hours later, everything was in place and ready, time-keepers, officials and crowd; he started at 8.56am. The opening 5000k was scheduled for 6m 10s but he went through in 5-55-6. Reaching 10k in 11-53-2 breaking Ole Ritter's 10k world record, at 20k he had taken another 11 seconds of a worlds best. Surely much to fast a start but he didn't waver once, his slowest 5k was 6-7-95. At the end of the hour he had pedalled his 52 x14 (100inch) gear at an average of 104rpm to ride an incredible 49.431k. Two laps further than Ritter. When asked for his comments for the Belgium press, Eddy Merckx said "I didn't have any moments of weakness in the hour, which was the longest of my career but the effort never felt easy. This bears no resemblance to a road time trial. Here you get no respite, no gear changes, no change of cadence, the effort is total, permanent, intense, unlike anything else. I will never try another attempt. Some people told me that to beat the record I would have to go to Mexico, where you can't feel the pedals going round. I can tell you I felt the pedals! In any case I don't regret this choice. It seems impossible to me to improve the record anywhere but on the high plateau. I'm positive that my record will be broken one day. That's the way of the sport. But to beat it a much bigger gear will have to be used, more than 8 metres (102"). The gear I have just used was already difficult to turn. No problem for 5 or 10k but to turn it for an hour is something else". Ole Ritter tried again in 1974 and bettered his 68 record with two rides which produced rides of 48.470 and 48.879k. The next year Roy Schuiten of Holland reigning world pursuit champion and twice winner of the Grand Prix des Nations arrived in Mexico. He did no better than Brackes 69 attempt. 1972 was possibly the high point of Eddy Merckx phemominal career. The three classic wins were in order Milan-San-Remo ( his 5th.), Leige-Baston-Liege and Fleche Wallone; continuing with his third Giro d'Italia. This was the Giro that Fuente the super Spanish climber gave him such a hard race. Then a fourth win in the T de F. Eddy Merckx is my all time cycling hero but I am 57 my riding mate who is 35 has Lance Armstrong as his. A truly wonderful rider but don't you just wish that their modern day sponsors would give them a free reign to equal or better the feats of previous greats. Winning is everything but huge publicity can also be had in defeats, Fuente, Poulidor and Fignon. Be lucky Mick.
Thats all for now. Keep those wheels spinning, in your memories if not still on the road. Be lucky Mick Butler Huntingdon UK.