Cycling: Alex Dowsett's current hour record is just over a month old - will it fall again on Sunday? In fact, Bradley Wiggins will start his eagerly awaited attempt by the cycling world at the London Velodrome. The 35-year-old is confident and has set himself an ambitious goal.
The hour world record has become a perennial favorite in cycling since the rules were adjusted by the UCI and Jens Voigt's new record last late summer. With Matthias Brändle, Rohan Dennis and Alex Dowsett, three drivers managed to improve the record in the meantime. Jack Bobridge and Thomas Dekker also tried the lesson but failed. Now, next Sunday in London, Bradley Wiggins is a rider who might be able to set a record that will last more than just a few weeks.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the charismatic Brit, who ended his road racing career this year, said: “There is no second place here. You either get it or you fail.” His expectations of himself are correspondingly high, especially because he correctly classifies Alex Dowsett's existing record of 52,937 km. “If the conditions are right, it can be done. The first goal is to somehow break the record, but I certainly don't underestimate Alex's record.” In theory, he already knows how this goal will be achieved, it's primarily about that “Keeping the pace constant – that's a huge challenge. If you look at the analysis of Alex's attempt, you can see that he just kept his pace until the very end - Thomas Dekker, for example, started quickly and then gradually lost more and more."
Like Alex Dowsett a few weeks ago, "Wiggo" has chosen a very specific number to aim for during his attempt: 55,291km. That was the distance Tony Rominger set in 1994. "It should go absolutely perfectly," continues Wiggins, "if Chris Boardman's 56,375km in 1996 was the ultimate goal." The training went extremely well and he and his team can hardly wait for it to finally start. He also encouraged other riders to try their hand at the record: “Competition is everything. No matter how things go for me on Sunday, I hope that someone will try again soon, even if they fail [...] The record will only become more important as more people try to break it – riders like Tony Martin or Cancellara. " Most recently, the German had repeatedly hinted that he would also be chasing the lesson in the foreseeable future.
The bike: cooperation between Pinarello and Jaguar
The Pinarello Bolide HR is based on the time trial bike of the same name, but was aerodynamically adapted to the specific requirements of the track and the hour world record in cooperation with Jaguar engineers. Wiggins has known the Jaguar aerodynamics team for a number of years and trusts their great know-how, which they have already brought to Team Sky. Visually, the one-piece handlebar-stem unit made of titanium is particularly striking on the Bolide HR. It was specially adapted to Wiggins stance and arms. Changes were also made to the fork, hubs and even the chainring to achieve better aerodynamics.
In any case, we are curious to see whether Wiggo will live up to the great expectations, including his own. Because as he says himself: There are no second places here.
The record attempt will be broadcast live on Eurosport. Broadcasting begins Sunday evening, June 7th at 19:15 p.m.
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