Alex Dowsett, the former British time-trial champion, could attempt to steal Sir Bradley Wiggins’s thunder with an attempt on the men’s world hour record in late February at the London 2012 velodrome. Wiggins has said he will go for the record in June but speculation is mounting in cycling circles that it could be the Essex time trialist who becomes the first Briton since Chris Boardman in 2000 to attempt it.
Dowsett’s Movistar team have called a press conference for Friday in London to make what they describe as “a special announcement” amid reports that they have booked the London velodrome for a series of private sessions costing £500 a time. Dowsett has been a regular performer at the Lee Valley Velopark this winter, riding the weekly track league there.
The Revolution Meeting at the Lee Valley Velodrome on 27-28 February is already hosting an attempt on the women’s record by Britain’s most successful Paralympian, Sarah Storey, which was announced on Tuesday. Storey will make her bid to better Leontien van Moorsel’s 2003 distance on 28 February, which would leave the Revolution session on Friday 27 February open for Dowsett.
“For sure it’s something I’d like to have a crack at,” said Dowsett recently when asked about the record. “It’s nice that it’s been brought out again and modernised.” The UCI revised the rules on equipment for the Hour this year, making it possible to use the same kit as for most timed events on the track; the upshot has been a resurgence in interest with Wiggins making no bones of his interest in putting the record on the shelf before he retires.
The changes prompted successful bids this autumn by the German Jens Voigt, and the current holder Matthias Brandle of Austria, who set a distance of 51.852km in Switzerland on 30 October.
The Australian rider Rohan Dennis also announced on Wednesday that he will try for the record on 8 February next year, in Grenchen, Switzerland. Other names said to be considering attempts include the Australian track specialist Jack Bobridge, a silver medallist in the London Olympics at the team pursuit, and the Dutch road professional Thomas Dekker.
Dowsett is 26 and has a track pedigree going back to his days as a junior, when he was a European team pursuit champion. Since turning professional for Team Sky in 2011 he has made his name as a time-trial specialist, winning a stage in the 2013 Giro d’Italia, ahead of Wiggins, in his first year with the Spanish squad Movistar. He took the time-trial title at the Commonwealth Games in August, and has landed three British national time-trial championships, adding the national 10-mile record last May.
