Dowsett Sets New One-Hour Cycle Record
Fourth person to do so in past eight months
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British time-trial champion Alex Dowsett broke the one-hour cycling record for farthest distance traveled, covering 32.89 miles at the Manchester Velodrome on Saturday, according to the BBC. Dowsett beat Australian Rohan Dennis’ February mark of 32.62 miles.
As Outside reported last June, a change in UCI regulations that lifted previous bans on certain track bike modifications, such as drop handlebars and shaped tubes, has resulted in a renewed interest in the hour record among competitive cyclists.
German cyclist Jens Voigt set a new hour record of 31.76 miles in September, followed by Austrian Matthias Brändle’s distance of 32.22 miles set in October, Dennis’ 32.62-mile record set in February, and now 26-year-old Dowsett’s distance to beat of 32.89 miles.
“The first 30 minutes were easy compared to what I expected,” Dowsett told the BBC. “But the last 10 minutes were a bit grippy.”
British Olympic champion and Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins will try to break Dowsett’s record on June 7 in London.