Alex Dowsett confirms Hour record attempt in New Year

Alex Dowsett says he will aim to break the Hour record on 27 February at the Revolution Series in London. He’s the third man in as many days to confirm an attempt in the New Year on the record, currently held by Austrian rider Matthias Brändle. Another British rider, Dame Sarah Storey will attempt to break the women’s record at the same meeting at the Lee Valley VeloPark.

Essex-born Dowsett revealed his plans at a press conference held by his Movistar team in London this morning. The 26-year-old, who has haemophilia, hopes his ride will inspire others with the same condition.

In a press release from hhis Movistart team, he said:

Things like the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, the Tour de France and world championships hit home with the general public, but I truly had my eyes opened during my offseason this year when I travelled around Europe with the Miles for Haemophilia campaign.

The campaign was simple: just to raise awareness and promote a healthy and active lifestyle within the Haemophilia community. What I realised quite quickly tough was the impact my story was having. As a young haemophiliac things were tough, even more so for my family than I. There was only a predicted gloomy outcome, talk of wheelchairs, crutches, joints fused in place or replaced, a far cry from the Alex you see before now.

On these trips I saw my story was spreading hope: their boy or girl could in fact lead an ordinary life. So I thought: what more can I do to bring a positive outlook on the future to them, alongside my own personal career ambitions? Everyone understands a world record, so I wanted my next target to be the hour record. 

The Hour is something I've always been interested in; the simplicity of it, mostly: no tactics, no hiding, just you and the bike.

Now I've got a new sense of drive as I know that the more success I can achieve, the more hope it will give everyone in the whole rare disease community. We spend our childhoods being told what we can't do, so I'm going for the record for anyone that gets told what they can't do something and goes out to prove themselves otherwise. I'm training a hell of a lot harder because of it.

Tickets are available for Dowsett's record attempt here.

By the time his turn to try for it comes around, the distance to beat is likely to be considerably greater than the 51.852 kilometres Brändle rode in October at the UCI’s World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland.

Australian track specialists Jack Bobridge – the world record holder in the 4km individual pursuit – and Rohan Dennis both scheduled to have attempted it beforehand.

Bobridge’s effort comes first, on 31 January at the DISC Velodrome in Melbourne on the last night of the Australian National Track Championships.

The 25-year-old, who has won the individual and team pursuit at both the world championship and Commonwealth Games, said: “I’ll go to hell and back several times throughout that hour”, reports Cycling Tips.

“It’s something I’m willing to do, something the people around me will do, and something I’m willing to do in improving myself.”

He added: “I’m one of the best track endurance riders in Australia, if not the world, and if I didn’t go to hell and back there’s something wrong, and I’m prepared to do that. That’s part of the thrill.”

BMC Racing rider Dennis, aged 24 and twice a world champion in the team pursuit, will attempt the record on 8 February at the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen.

"When I look at my experience on the track and the numbers I have been doing on the track and on the road, it is within reach," he said.

"As long as I don't get too excited at the start and control my nerves, the pacing will take care of itself."

The venue chosen by Dennis is the same one where, in September, Jens Voigt became the first man to set the Hour record under new rules introduced by the UCI earlier this year to permit modern track bikes and equipment.

Neither Voigt nor Brändle had experience of riding in a velodrome prior to making their successful record attempts, and expectations are that their distances will easily be beaten by track specialists or riders who are strong in individual time trials.

Dowsett is a past British national time trial champion and winner of a stage against the clock at the Giro d’Italia, while both Dennis and Bobridge are strong in the discipline – the latter won the under-23 world title at Mendrisio in 2009.

Besides Dowsett’s assault on the men’s record and Storey aiming for the women’s version, it seems highly likely a third British rider will attempt it during 2015, with Sir Bradley Wiggins reportedly due to target it on Mallorca during the summer.