Fabian Cancellara and Bradley Wiggins have both put the hour record back in the spotlight by suggesting that they would like to improve the mark set by Ondrej Sosenka in 2009. However, they may face even fiercer competition as world time trial champion Tony Martin also has an attempt in the back of his mind.

 

Tony Martin won the battle of the giants at the world time trial championships when he beat both Bradley Wiggins and Fabian Cancellara in a dominant fashion on the roads in Florence. By putting 46 seconds into Wiggins on the 57,9km course, the German left no one wondering who is the fastest man on a road bike.

 

With the time trial crown apparently beyond their reach, Cancellara and Wiggins have both suggested that they would like to make an hour record attempt. In August, the latter said that the thought appealed to him while the former has already decided to give it a try and will discuss the details with Trek manager Luca Guercilena next week in Belgium, with an attempt likely to take place in 2014.

 

However, Wiggins and Cancellara may now have to deal with Martin in this context too. Last week the German answered questions asked by the readers of Thüringer Allgemeine and while he was keen to point out that he is currently focusing on his road objectives, he couldn't hide that he was inspired by the thought of trying to break the record.

 

"The world time trial championships on the road are clearly once again in the foreground of my targets and in the future also the 2016 Olympics in Rio where the flat stretch along the Copacabana should suit me well," Martin wrote.

 

"My rivals Fabian Cancellara and Bradley Wiggins both intend to work in the direction of the hour record," he added. "I watch it and also have those ambitions in the back of my mind: it would be a nice award to be the fastest man in the world."

 

The record is currently held by Ondrej Sosenka who covered 49,700km in Moscow in 2005. Unfortunately, Sosenka's career ended when he tested positive methamphetamine at the Czech time trial championships three years later.

 

The record lost its prestige when the UCI decided to ban tri-bars and re-set the record to Eddy Merckx’s 49.431km set in 1972. At that time, the record was held by Chris Boardman who had covered 56.375km but that performance is now only seen as "Best Human Effort". Previous records set by Francesco Moser (1984), Graeme Obree (1993 and 1994), Miguel Indurain (1994) and Tony Rominger (1994) were also deleted from the official list due to the rule changes.

 

In October 2000, Boardman ended his career by reclaiming the record, clocking 49.441km in Manchester. Since then, none of the sport's major stars have shown any interest in attempting to cover a longer distance but Sosenka improved the mark in 2005.

 

Stage race targets

Martin is mostly known for his three consecutive time trial world championships and his dominance of the time trial scene. However, he is also an excellent stage racer who has won the Paris-Nice, the Eneco Tour and the Tour of Beijing, Tour of Belgium and Volta ao Algarve twice.

 

He will continue to chase overall success in weeklong stage races in the future but rules out that he will ever go for glory in the grand tours.

 

"When it comes to weeklong stage races, [I will] definitely [try to win]," he told a reader. "My targets don't exclude each other. Due to its toughness, the Tour de France is, however, currently beyond my reach. With another training, I would lose too much of my time trial qualities. That risk is too high for me."

 

Difficult times for German cycling

Martin turned professional with Team Colombia in 2008. These days several young German talents fail to make it to the pro ranks due to the doping discussion which has spelled the end for most German teams and races.

 

Martin rues the lack of opportunity for the young Germans and admits that it was much easier when he was racing as a U23 rider.

 

"At that time, there was a competitive situation between the big teams T-Mobile and Gerolsteiner," he wrote. "For the latter, I had already won a professional time trial as a stagiaire. That was one of the things that made the step to the successor of T-Mobile, Columbia, and then Highroad smooth. But I know that it is only the bright side."

 

A team player

When the Highroad team folded, Martin joined Omega Pharma-Quick Step. Having had difficulties in his first season in the Belgian team, he rediscovered his best legs for the 2014 season.

 

While he is one of the stars, he is often seen working hard as part of the lead-out train for Mark Cavendish who was also his teammate at Highroad.

 

"I have put on no airs," he wrote. "I am a team player who can also protect my teammates like the Pole Michal Kwiatkowski or the Colombian Rigorberto Uran from the wind or close gaps. I celebrate a time trial win just as much as a sprint win for Mark Cavendish that has been prepared by the team."

 

Martin's contract expires at the end of the 2014 season but he declares himself satisfied with his current surroundings.

 

"My contract ends in 2014," he wrote. "I am very satisfied in the team. However, the planning goes on. The direction of the team must fit [with my goals]."

 

Martin ended his season on a high by defending his win in the Chrono des Nations time trial.