52,937 km – Alex Dowsett breaks World Hour Record in Manchester
At the beginning, there was the question: Can he do it and can he beat Rohan?
HE DID IT!
On the 2nd of May, Alex Dowsett set a new UCI World Hour Record at Manchester Velodrome:
52,937 km!
The crowed sheered the Movistar Rider when he entered the wooden oval of Manchester on his Canyon Speedmax WHR. 12:59 h – the time had come. Those spectators, sponsors and staff members who managed to stay relaxes until then, must had become excited at that moment – as there was absolute silence just before the start.
10….9…. 5…3…1….GO! 1 pm – 60 Minutes against the clock – with the plan not to beat his contender Rohan Dennis (BMC) from the beginning, but to set the new record during the last 15 minutes. An evenly paced and progressive racing strategy!
So, Alex Dowsett had to wait for 45 minutes… Temporarily, he was up to 9 seconds behind Rohan, comparing the 1:1 (real time) performance.
The crowd wondered: Would that plan work?
YES, it worked. The Movistar Head Coach Mikel Zabala developed a perfect plan for Dowsett’s Hour Record. As Rohan Dennis had lost some speed during the last 15 minutes, the plan was to speed up during the last 15 minutes. After 179 rounds he had already been on the record course.
At 2pm, the time stopped with a new Hour Record of 52,937 km! Dowsett beat Dennis by 476 m!
The audience went delirious and celebrated their hero of the Manchester Velodrome – the new UCI Hour Record Holder!
During the press conference after the record attempt, Dowsett committed that at first, he did not like very much the plan of his coaches: to wait 45 minutes to beat Rohan’s record. From time to time he was a bit too enthusiastic so that his coaches had to slow him down. However Alex knew that success is a matter of trust. He trusted in the plan of his coaches, he trusted his team and he had trust in his material: the special Endura Race Suit, his Canyon Speedmax WHR with Campagnolo parts and his power2max Type S Campagnolo 2015 power meter as well as in the aerodynamic optimization by drag2zero!
At the end, his #PerfectHour was a #PerfectPerformance with an unbelievable new World Hour Record!
Congratulations, Alex Dowsett! power2max is so proud of you. We are very happy to have been part of your Hour Record Team and so happy that your power2max Type S power meter was your “permanent training partner” while preparing for your new WORLD RECORD!