In May this year, the UCI relaxed rules about the equipment required to take on the Hour Record. This had the desired effect of breathing new life into the event, with Jens Voigt and now Matthias Brandle beating the record.

UCI President Brian Cookson is pleased with the recent attention but he wants to have more riders taking it on.

"I hope that the achievements of Jens and Matthias inspire other great cyclists to attempt to overcome one of the most challenging tests in our sport,” Cookson said. “Cycling should adapt to the times and so we opted for modernizing the rules of the hour record. It is fantastic that we were able to witness two exploits of this calibre in such a short space of time. It also proves that the record is fully revitalised.”

Voigt took on and beat the record in September but Brandle, who is more of a time trialist than Voigt, beat the record by almost half a kilometer.

“What Matthias Brändle did is a tremendous accomplishment. He was the first rider to reach towards 52 kilometres, which is very special for cycling and the hour record,” he said. “A performance like this shows our sport in the best way possible. The hour record is an example of cycling in its purest form, with riders getting the best from themselves. I think it's one of the most difficult goals and requires perfect planning."

Over the next twelve months, Alex Rasmussen, Bradley Wiggins and the man who held the record before Voigt, Ondrej Sosenka have all said that they will all have a go at trying to beat Brandle’s recently established benchmark.