Alex Dowsett to try and reclaim UCI Hour Record from Sir Bradley Wiggins

Alex Dowsett, who held the UCI Hour Record for five weeks last year until his distance was bettered by Sir Bradley Wiggins, has announced plans to regain the record early next year, reports BBC Sport.

The venue will be the same as the one where he broke Australian rider Rohan Dennis's record of 52.491 kilometres on 2 May 2015, Manchester's National Cycling Centre.

The 28-year-old Movistar rider rode 52.937 kilometres that day - almost two laps more than Dennis - but the following month, Wiggins smashed it as he rode 54.526 kilometres at London's Lee Valley VeloPark.

> Dowsett breaks UCI Hour Record

That had been Essex native Dowsett's first choice of venue when he announced his original record attempt in December 2014, but his plans to take a tilt at it at the end of February 2015 had to be put on hold after he broke his collarbone in a crash during training.

After Wiggins took the record from him, Dowsett said his own ride the precious month had been a "very conservative race and I could have gone faster."

Claims afterwards by Dowsett's support team that Wiggins' record was invalid because his Pinarello Bolide bike wasn't in production were rejected by the UCI, while British Cycling denied a separate claim it had given him preferential treatment in the build-up to his attempt.

> Claims Wiggins' Hour bike illegal & he got favourable treatment rejected