Alex Dowsett posts record-breaking 25-mile time trial to Strava

Alex Dowsett has been getting a lot of kudos on Strava after uploading a rather special ‘Morning Ride’ to Strava yesterday – the one in which he set a new competition record for a 25-mile time trial under Cycling Time Trials (CTT) rules, as he became the first man ever to go under 45 minutes.

> Alex Dowsett smashes 25-mile time trial record

The time he set yesterday was 44 minutes 39 seconds, but under the somewhat prosaic default name ‘Morning Ride’ Strava shows it as 12 seconds more, as well as a slightly longer distance at 25.1 miles.

There are a few things that could explain that.

One, the E2/25 course is actually that longer distance (CTT courses can vary slightly from the distance over which the actual time is taken for safety reasons with start and finish areas).

Secondly, there’s the time taken to press that button to record the ride immediately before it starts and after it finishes.

And finally, as any regular Strava user knows, there can often be discrepancies between what you upload from your Garmin or similar device and what gets registered on the ride-sharing network.

Total elevation gain on the ride on the E2/25 course along the A14 and All from Newmarket to Four Went Ways southeast of Cambridge was a shade under 500 feet – this is East Anglia, remember – and Dowsett expended 1,222 calories, and his suffer score was 46.

Along the way, he set three KOMs – the E25/20 itself (44 minutes 23 seconds, according to Strava), the Newmarket to Four Ways RAB (20 minutes 13 seconds) and the E2/25 Start (14 minutes 8 seconds).

The national and Commonwealth time trial champion was back in the UK on a break from his Tour de France preparations in the Pyrenees to attend his mother’s 60th birthday celebrations.

Some  Strava users who complimented Dowsett on his ride were there yesterday, several pointing out that it had been undertaken in less than ideal conditions.

Mick Hodson said: “Unbelievable Ride Alex !! I must be a good omen for you as I was one of the starters when you broke 10 Comp Record albeit I was riding today.”

James The Captain Cook (KCC) said, “Well done Alex, great ride,” and asked, “Did it feel hard on the way back like I said? (Fat bloke on the yellow bike).”

Meanwhile Terry G. added: “To all Alex's fans all I will say when he overtook me at the start of the A11 it was like being overtaken by a stealth bomber! Bloody amazing!”

Matthew Evans missed it, however. He wrote: “Literally went past my doorstep while I was unaware, still laying in bed, at my mum’s house in Burwell. Chapeau Alex!”