Rider Brandle will attempt to break record

Matthias Brandle Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP

AIGLE, Switzerland — Austrian rider Matthias Brandle will attempt to break cycling’s historic hour record next week and eclipse Jens Voigt’s mark of 51.1 kilometres.

Ending his career with a record attempt one day after his 43rd birthday, Voigt achieved the feat on Sept. 18 in the Grenchen velodrome in Switzerland. The German beat the 2005 mark of 49.7 kilometres by Czech cyclist Ondrej Sosenka.

The hour record was previously held by cycling greats Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx.

Brandle, the Austrian time trial champion, will attempt the record feat next Thursday at the velodrome of cycling governing body UCI in Aigle, Switzerland.

Brandle says, "I have decided to try my luck because I have been impressed by Jens Voigt since I was a young child."

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.