Live blog: Victor Campenaerts breaks Sir Bradley Wiggins' UCI Hour record in Mexico as he rides more than 55km, 12-year-old Hannah Killick rides Land's End to John O'Groats, +more

Victor Campenaerts has set a new UCI Hour record in Aguascalientes, Mexico today, his distance of 55.089 kilometres surpassing the 54.526 kilometres ridden by Sir Bradley Wiggins in London almost four years ago.

Full story to follow.

Currently being sprayed with some type of oil on any bits of exposed skin... presumably to make it more slippery. We're expecting he'll start any minute now, stream above. 

Nils Politt gave Team Katusha Alpecin the best result of what has been a difficult Classics campaign.
The German rider looked very strong over the cobbles, but couldn't beat Gilbert in the sprint on the Roubaix velodrome.

The female Hour Record holder sat down to discuss the feat on Eurosport's Bradley Wiggins Show, and attempted to explain what goes through the mind as you try to hold maximum power for 60 minutes: "You think about everything except cycling. If you think you are pedalling at 48kmp/h, you need to do almost 200 laps – it's too much. Your mind cannot support that. I just remember the voice of my boyfriend shouting to me the lap time, loud music, because I had a playlist in the velodrome... the sensation of pain in my leg, neck – pain everywhere, actually. Then most obviously the last minute, because [at that point] I understood I was bringing a world record, so it was really: 'Wow! Exciting!'"

On the pure pain, Bussi says: "Okay, I'm preparing for a world record, so it's normal that I'll feel pain. And it's good if I do, because then I know I'm overriding my limits. So I was searching for pain, actually. It's a change of perspective. But it really changes your relationship with pain, because you're searching for him. It's not him who comes to you and you're scared... Don't be scared of pain."

Want to know exactly how the Deceuninck Quick-Step tactics helped Philippe Gilbert to victory? Cosmo Catalano takes us through the Hell of the North.

 

 

 

 

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After the idea, the permission and the preparation, I'm ready for the performance. . Confident and focussed. 60 minutes, 3600 seconds. . From 17h30 CET at Canvas/Sporza (also livestream) - In the commentary box: Renaat Schotte and José De Cauwer. - In the studio: Karl Vannieuwerke, Eddy Planckaert and Marc Sergeant - Live in Mexico: Maarten Vangramberen - In café Mombassa: Linde Merckpoel . Also live on UCI youtube channel with English commentary. . Thanks for all the support! . #Victor2VictorY . @facepeeters

A post shared by Victor Campenaerts (@campenaertsvictor) on Apr 15, 2019 at 12:18pm PDT

On his blog for Lotto Soudal posted yesterday, Campenaerts says: “The last days before the Hour Record attempt are not hard to fill. Three weeks ago, I could already have predicted how they would go. That is exactly what gives me peace and confidence. The tough training sessions are over; now it is important to still stimulate the muscles a bit. In terms of nutrition, it is time for carbo-loading, which means eating as many carbohydrates as possible. Fats, fibers and proteins are mostly eliminated, but even for an effort of 60 minutes, my muscles still need to be fully charged, which is at least as important as the Classics riders in Paris-Roubaix. Throughout the day, I have to take ten to twelve grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight to fill my tank. ”

“The moment of truth is getting closer. My body is totally ready for it. Mentally, I am pretty relaxed due to the perfect preparation. My schedule is minutely planned. Meanwhile, my body has completely adapted to the special biorhythm: getting up at 5 o’clock and going to sleep at 8 o’clock is very easy now.”

The attempt is set to take place from 17:55 CEST (16:55 in the UK according to the latest update on the Youtube live stream) and the mark Campenaerts is aiming to surpass is 54.526km, set by Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2015. If you want to clock off early or stay late to watch the pain unfold, the link to the live stream on Youtube is here. 

Quoted in the Tour de Yorkshire official programme, Froome says: “Having the Tour de France start in Yorkshire obviously got a lot of people out and got a lot of people really excited about cycling. 

“And the knock-on effect that it had is just massive, to the extent where Yorkshire and cycling now go hand in hand.”

The Tour de Yorkshire takes place between 2nd-5th May, and as there's no Giro d'Italia in his plans this year, it's allowed Froome to make his debut at the event.