Broken collarbone places Dowsett hour-record bid in grave doubt
BRITAIN’S Alex Dowsett has suffered a major blow in his bid to smash cycling’s hour record after the Commonwealth Games time trial champion sustained a fractured collarbone in training.
The 26-year-old is scheduled to try and beat 51.852km, the benchmark set by Austria’s Matthias Brandle in October, at the Lee Valley VeloPark on Friday, 27 February.
While Dowsett is set to undergo surgery today, his Movistar team have confirmed that any decision as to whether the hour-record attempt will be postponed or not will be announced in the coming days.
“With regard to the #PerfectHour, the attempt has not been postponed or cancelled,” tweeted Dowsett. “We will see how surgery goes and then make a decision.
“Every effort will be made by Movistar, our sponsors and I to make it happen, I’m truly grateful for all the support I have, thank you.”
Sir Bradley Wiggins is expected to try and set the record for the longest distance covered in an hour although a date is yet to be suggested, while Australian duo Jack Bobridge and Rohan Dennis will make make their own bids on 31 January and 8 February respectively.