After the UCI has decided to change the regulations, Fabian Cancellara and his Trek team have decided to put his Hour Record attempt on hold. The Swiss was inspired by the challenge of beating Eddy Merckx and may now completely drop the idea of setting a new standard.

Following the UCI’s decision to change the Hour Record regulations, Trek Factory Racing and Fabian Cancellara are announcing that the project to attempt to break the record has been suspended for an undetermined amount of time.

General Manager Luca Guercilena: “At this point we need to assess the situation. We’ve invested many ressources, both human and financial, to prepare for an attempt and we need to evaluate in which way, if any, we proceed. We are satisfied that the UCI has now stipulated clear regulations about the Hour Record, as there was already some speculation about it, but we need to examine what it means for our project, which so far has been focused on breaking the Merckx record.”

“But above all, we need to look at the athlete here”, says Guercilena. “For Fabian, the idea of attempting the hour had a historical motivation all along. The record of Eddy Merckx has inspired him to step into this project. It takes great character to contemplate fitting this feat into his normal race program. The nature of ‘the hour’ has changed now because the historical perspective has changed.”

Fabian Cancellara: “The whole appeal of the hour record for me is that you are competing against riders from the past. I would have loved to race Eddy (Merckx) in the Classics, or in a time trial, but it’s not possible. The hour record has this charming side to it that I like a lot. Now it’s going to be different. I’m not against technological innovation, everyone knows that. It’s why I spend so much time testing road bikes with Trek. And it’s also why we’ve invested time and money in developing the best Merckx style bike.”

“We had some plans semi-ready but right now we need to think about the whole project again”, continues Cancellara. “We will discuss everything within the team and with Trek.”

To conclude, the team and Trek Bicycle support the UCI’s President Brian Cookson when he speaks about the modernization of the UCI Equipment Regulation. Technological innovation has a place in cycling - it was Trek Bicycle’s exact motivation to own a WorldTour team.