Six-time Swedish national time trial champion, Gustav Larsson (Cult Energy), has confirmed he will aim to break the UCI hour record at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester, England on Saturday, March 14.
The UCI hour record attempt will take place as part of the Revolution Series season finale and will be scheduled at the end of the afternoon session at 15:30 GMT.
The attempt will be the fourth this year. BMC’s Rohan Dennis holds the current record of 52.491km. Jack Bobridge (Budget Forklifts) and Thomas Dekker both fell short of the record in efforts earlier this winter.
Larsson will be hoping his time trial pedigree, which saw him take silver in the Beijing Olympics, will be enough to set a new best mark in “the longest hour.”
“I am very confident of breaking the Swedish hour record, but it is the world record I am after,” he said. “I think it will be possible — it will not be easy, but I am feeling ready for the challenge.
“I was inspired to try for the hour record when I was trying to heal my broken back last year. It was one of the goals to get back on the bike and to look forward to through the rehab and winter training.
“When I heard about the [Alex] Dowsett and [Sarah] Storey attempts at the Revolution series meet at London I thought it was a super concept! It looked like the perfect venue to do my attempt at the last round and on the historically fast track in Manchester so we contacted the organizers.” Dowsett did not end up attempting the hour due to an injury suffered in the run-up to his attempt that had been planned for last month.
Although he has little elite-level track experience, Larsson may benefit from the experience of his former IAM Cycling teammate Matthias Brandle, who rode into the record books last fall, beating Jens Voigt’s hour record.
“We’re pleased to be hosting another UCI hour record attempt in the UK and look forward to welcoming Gustav [Larsson] to Manchester,” said Revolution Series Promoter, James Pope. “The atmosphere and excitement we experienced during Dame Sarah Storey’s attempt was phenomenal so we know the event will make a great addition to the Revolution race program.”
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