Alex Dowsett analyses Hour Record attempt: 'I’m confident that was everything I had'
Briton's Hour Record attempt raises over £45,000 for charity

Alex Dowsett walks away from his Hour Record attempt from the Aguascalientes velodrome in Mexico without any regrets, having raised over £45,000 so far for Haemophilia Society and his own charity, Little Bleeders.
Dowsett, who suffers from rare blood disease haemophilia, rode independently from his team Israel Start-Up Nation in order to raise awareness and money for the two aforementioned charities.
Speaking in the latest YouTube video documenting his Hour Record, Dowsett explained his emotions towards the donations 24 hours on.
"The response since has been quite overwhelming," Dowsett said. "The JustGiving page is now at over £40,000, which is far beyond anything we ever expected, it really is. That’s quite phenomenal."
Despite falling 534 metres short of Victor Campenaerts' record of 55.089 kilometres in the Hour Record, Dowsett seemed content that he managed 54.555 kilometres himself. While he failed to break the record, he Briton is confident that he left everything he had on the track, and couldn't have done anything differently.
"I’m confident that was everything I had, and that was the important thing," Dowsett said.
"I am satisfied with the outcome. I’m not walking way with the World Record but I am walking away with the satisfactory feeling that I had the World Record and that I’ve also shown the Hour Record what I can do. We’re good."
The video also captures Alex sitting down with his coach, Michael Hutchinson. The pair analyse his attempt, describing how tactical changes still wouldn't have propelled himself further than Campenaerts managed.
"The goal to start with was to get the first five to ten minutes right, not getting too excited and settling on pace," Dowsett explained. "After that, from 15 to 20 minutes I had a bit of a rough patch but settled down again, then at 30 minutes I was like ‘I can do this, I’m in control'.
"But then at 35 minutes I started to be in somewhat less control. The lap times just started slipping away. I was five seconds up and thinking ‘ok, I’ve got five seconds of a buffer, hopefully I can lose that, regroup, and go again, but try as I might, I just couldn’t get back on top of it."
At that point in the challenge, the 33-year-old's lap times crept up towards the 17-second mark, 0.7 seconds slower than he needed to challenge Campenaerts' distance. However, both Dowsett and Hutchinson seemed content that the Briton's efforts couldn't be faulted.
Hutchinson told Dowsett: "I thought it was a really good attempt, and you should be really proud of it because the margins are really tight."
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Hi, I'm a Trainee News Writer at Cycling Weekly.
I have worked for Future across its various sports titles since December 2020, writing news for Cycling Weekly, FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture. I am currently studying for a NCTJ qualification alongside my role as Trainee News Writer at the company.
Prior to joining Future I attended Cardiff University, earning a degree in Journalism & Communications.
-
-
Five talking points from stage eleven of the Giro d’Italia 2022
The Cycling Weekly highlights package from the stage which finally saw an Italian win at the home race this year
By Luke Friend • Published
-
Strava acquires injury prevention app Recover Athletics to provide personalised prehab
Evidence-based exercises are claimed to help athletes stay injury-free
By Anna Marie Hughes • Published
-
Ellen van Dijk set to attempt women's Hour Record in May
Van Dijk is looking to break Joss Lowden's current record of 48.405km
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
British rider breaks junior national Hour Record
British Cycling officiated Fred Meredith's attempt as he rode a record-breaking 49.184km
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Filippo Ganna: 'I will attack the Hour Record at sea level - that gives me more satisfaction'
The Italian also wants success at the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix and San-Remo
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Dan Bigham and Michael Hutchinson on how the men's Hour Record can be beaten: 'It’s about keeping everything within your control'
Bigham reset the British Hour Record with a distance of 54.723km in October
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
Nico Anelli to attempt to break Scottish Hour Record distance to raise awareness of chronic gut conditions: 'It shouldn't be the end of your sporting hopes'
The Scottish time triallist set up his own team, Real Guts Racing, to raise awareness
By Chris Marshall-Bell • Published
-
Victor Campenaerts proud to keep Hour Record: 'I'm glad it is still in my possession'
The Belgian also praised Alex Dowsett's attempt that fell 500m short of the record
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Alex Dowsett falls short of Hour Record in Mexico
Briton misses out on record at the Aguascalientes Velodrome in Mexico
By Richard Windsor • Published
-
Watch: Alex Dowsett Hour Record attempt live stream
Dowsett begins his Hour Record attempt at 10pm GMT
By Cycling Weekly • Published