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Alex Dowsett to attempt Hour record in Manchester on 2 May

Movistar rider had been forced to postpone February tilt at record after breaking collarbone

Alex Dowsett will attempt to break Rohan Dennis's UCI Hour record at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester on Saturday 2nd May, says his Movistar team.

The 26-year-old from Essex had planned to make an attempt on the record at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London at the end of February, but was forced to postpone it after breaking his collarbone in a training ride in January.

He returned to racing earlier this month, tackling the GP Nobili in Italy, followed by Milan-San Remo and Sunday's Gent-Wevelgem, where he was a member of an early breakaway group.

Dowsett will be riding a Canyon Speedmax WHR, which his team says has been "specifically created to break the record, as well as using a number of new parts and components developed using the very latest technology currently available."

He said: “I'm thrilled to be back on track to attempt the #PerfectHour.

“Breaking my collarbone whilst in such good form was a real disappointment, but I healed 100% and didn't lose much form through it all.

"Manchester will be a fantastic location and it'll be an honour for me to attempt the record on the same boards as Chris Boardman,” he added.

Movistar says that tickets for the record attempt will go on sale via See Tickets by the end of this week.

The current record, set by Dennis at the start of February, stands at 52.491 kilometres.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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13 comments

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Beefy | 8 years ago
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Got the tickets IMO a good price me and my boy looking forward to it  1

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farrell | 8 years ago
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http://www.seetickets.com/event/alex-dowsett-uci-hour-record-perfecthour...

Tenner, not a bad price but it's still the same price as a full session of racing at Revolution for one hour of one man's time trial.

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kevinmorice | 8 years ago
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Until Wiggins, Cancellara and Martin make their attempts, everyone else is just a warm-up act.

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J90 | 8 years ago
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I like Dowsett but I don't see him beating Dennis' record. I hope he does, but Dennis is very strong and has had a lot of success on the track, mostly in Australia's successful Team Pursuit squad that won two world championships.

Pretty sure the track he used in Switzerland is also one of the best too for a few reasons.

Has Dowsett even been back on the track competitively since his junior days?

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bikeandy61 | 8 years ago
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We'll see. Don't hold your breathe though. Mind you I bet they'll be half the price of the Wiggo attempts.

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bikeandy61 | 8 years ago
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And good he's chosen/been forced to use Manchester. As said continues the cycle started by "sir" Chris Boardman. If only Wiggo would do the same. Respect the history! (Though I appreciate that there may be technical issues (Olympic Velodrome faster than Manc?) or the cynic in me thinks commercial)

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pwake replied to bikeandy61 | 8 years ago
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bikeandy61 wrote:

And good he's chosen/been forced to use Manchester. As said continues the cycle started by "sir" Chris Boardman. If only Wiggo would do the same. Respect the history! (Though I appreciate that there may be technical issues (Olympic Velodrome faster than Manc?) or the cynic in me thinks commercial)

What is it with this insistence on some kind of Manc hour record history? The real history is that you make your attempt on the fastest track possibly available. Mexico City was the choice for Ritter, Merckx and Moser. Then all the 90's records used Bordeaux, including Boardman's. When Manchester became available Boardman used it because it was the fastest (and, probably, logistically the easiest). I couldn't believe the vehemence of some of the comments relating to Wiggo using Lea Valley; maybe we should just be thankful that the UK finally has a track(s) that are worthy of being considered suitable.

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bikeandy61 | 8 years ago
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Ticket info?

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farrell replied to bikeandy61 | 8 years ago
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bikeandy61 wrote:

Ticket info?

Via See Tickets, details to be announce later in the week.

At a guess, the info will be available late tomorrow/Thursday and on sale for Friday morning.

I'll see what I can find out.

Hopefully they wont take the piss with ticket prices, bearing in mind you can get a full evening of racing for a tenner with the Revolution.

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farrell | 8 years ago
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Might have to rethink my plans and swerve the Yorkshire Tour to watch this.

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Beefy | 8 years ago
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I want a ticket for this, I think he will do it!

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RobD | 8 years ago
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I really hope he breaks it, it'll be great to see him really hammering home how good he is

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ChrisB200SX replied to RobD | 8 years ago
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RobD wrote:

I really hope he breaks it

Unfortunate choice of words.

It will be pretty tough to surpass the record now, but he may well be the man to do it.

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