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Wiggins’ Hour Record attempt scheduled for June 7 at London’s Lee Valley VeloPark

Describes the Hour as ‘a holy grail for cyclists’ but hopes he can inspire the public to cycle too

Sir Bradley Wiggins will make his attempt on the Hour Record at the Lee Valley VeloPark on Sunday June 7, reports Sky Sports. The record is currently held by Australian Rohan Dennis who rode 52.491 kilometres at the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen in February.

Tickets will go on sale on Friday and Wiggins hopes his effort will encourage members of the public to take part in their own one hour cycle ride.

“The hour record is a holy grail for cyclists. It’s been fought over tooth and nail by the greatest names in our sport for over a hundred years and it’s time for me to have a crack at it.

“I hope this is a challenge that inspires people: Why not get your bike out of the shed and see how far you can go in an hour?”

A Rapha campaign related to Wiggins’ bid will see schools encouraged to organise their own hour record attempts. They and anyone else who fancies a go will be able to track and share their efforts in the build-up using the hashtag #MYHOUR.

Australian cyclist Jack Bobridge said that attempting the Hour was the hardest thing you can possibly do as a cyclist. In January, he fell three laps short of the record, which at the time was held by Austria’s Matthias Brandle. “I have been in agony on the track before, but the fatigue from the hour was something different,” he said of the experience.

Wiggins’ attempt has long been pencilled in for June, bridging the gap between his road race career and his efforts to win another gold medal on the track at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Speaking shortly before he became world time trial champion in September last year, Wiggins said that he wanted to prepare for the Hour properly and that it would give him something ‘to get out of bed for in the winter’. “I'll only do it once,” he added.

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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24 comments

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stevec1975 | 9 years ago
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I assume this will be live on Sky? anyone know?

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UrbanBushman replied to stevec1975 | 9 years ago
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Most of the other hour records have been on Eurosport. So lets hope.

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andyp | 9 years ago
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'Who's going to pay fifty squid to watch a bloke going round in circles on a bike for an hour? '

Me, and probably many others. HTH.

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The Giblet | 9 years ago
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Why do tickets for these events also add admin fees and delivery fees when they email you the ticket? A 40 pound ticket should cost 40 pounds (despite that sounding a bit steep).

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farrell replied to The Giblet | 9 years ago
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The Giblet wrote:

Why do tickets for these events also add admin fees and delivery fees when they email you the ticket? A 40 pound ticket should cost 40 pounds (despite that sounding a bit steep).

Because the company selling the tickets have staff and premises to pay for, as well as the systems and software that are generating and emailing the tickets out to you.

It's the same with concerts, you can usually buy tickets without these admin fees, in cash, in person, from the the venue but if you want to be able to ring someone or book online or use a card then you are going to have to pay for the service they provide.

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juniper bushes | 9 years ago
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Quote:

"they should have said "sponsor Wiggo £1 for every km he rides in the hour". The result is your ticket price and a certain proportion goes to whatever charity. Then all the have-a-go heroes could also be sponsored £1/km by their friends and relatives."

very good.

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chokofingrz | 9 years ago
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For a publicity stunt, they should have said "sponsor Wiggo £1 for every km he rides in the hour". The result is your ticket price and a certain proportion goes to whatever charity. Then all the have-a-go heroes could also be sponsored £1/km by their friends and relatives. Are they missing a trick or what...

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crikey | 9 years ago
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There will be thousands of bearded, Union Jacked, misguidedly trousered young men who will pay that to see the Great Sir Wiggo. I'll also wager that Paul Smith will be there and maybe that Paul Weller too. I won't be going.

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pwake replied to crikey | 9 years ago
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crikey wrote:

There will be thousands of bearded, Union Jacked, misguidedly trousered young men who will pay that to see the Great Sir Wiggo. I'll also wager that Paul Smith will be there and maybe that Paul Weller too. I won't be going.

Aw c'mon don't be a spoilsport. We'll miss you with your clean-shaven face and sensible trousers. I hear Weller and Mexican Morrissey are premiering their new collaboration "I would go down to the Taco van at midnight but I haven't got a thing to wear."

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scottharkins1971 | 9 years ago
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Mexican Morrissey wow!! That sounds interesting!!

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farrell replied to scottharkins1971 | 9 years ago
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scottharkins1971 wrote:

Mexican Morrissey wow!! That sounds interesting!!

There is a tour coming up:
https://www.facebook.com/mexrrissey

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin-notas/6458341/morrissey-...

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Marauder | 9 years ago
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Looks like they are from £29 now!

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southseabythesea replied to Marauder | 9 years ago
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Marauder wrote:

Looks like they are from £29 now!

Does that mean he's shaved most of his beard off?

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pruaga replied to Marauder | 9 years ago
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Marauder wrote:

Looks like they are from £29 now!

Once you click through the link it's £49 all the way.

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crikey | 9 years ago
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How long is he on for?
 21

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farrell | 9 years ago
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I might go to Dowsett's attempt but I'm going to a Mexican Morrissey tribute act followed by a Smith's disco the night before so lord only knows what state my head is going to be in on the day.

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fenix | 9 years ago
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Go to Dowsetts instead - about £11...

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Simmo72 replied to fenix | 9 years ago
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fenix wrote:

Go to Dowsetts instead - about £11...

Yep, there is a £38 beard surcharge for wiggo

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bohrhead | 9 years ago
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Yes, it's right - £49 to be exact.

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farrell replied to bohrhead | 9 years ago
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bohrhead wrote:

Yes, it's right - £49 to be exact.

Forgive me if I am starting right at it, but can you show where you have read that?

I've not seen a confirmation of the price yet.

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bohrhead replied to farrell | 9 years ago
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farrell replied to bohrhead | 9 years ago
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bohrhead wrote:

http://tickets.sky.com/Cycling/One-Hour-Record

Thanks for that, I had tried the Sky Tickets site but was getting a "come back on Friday" message.

Utterly ridiculous prices.

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Joeinpoole replied to bohrhead | 9 years ago
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bohrhead wrote:

Yes, it's right - £49 to be exact.

That's insane. Who's going to pay fifty squid to watch a bloke going round in circles on a bike for an hour? That's considerably more than most Premier League clubs charge for nearly 2 hours of entertainment ... and that's still too much anyway.

If I were local I wouldn't mind going along to support Wiggo and witness the attempt. I think £10-15 to help with the costs of staging the event would be far more appropriate.

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farrell | 9 years ago
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I've seen a couple of people throwing out the figure of £50 for tickets.

Is there any chance Road.cc can find out if this is correct?

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