Hour Record holder comes out of retirement for two new world record attempts

Women’s UCI Hour Record holder Vittoria Bussi has announced plans to try and break two world records later this month.

The Italian, who shared news of her retirement last September, will return to the track and attempt to better her own record in the Hour again on 9 May. She will then take aim at the women’s 4km individual pursuit record, which stands at 4:24.060, and is held by Great Britain’s Anna Morris.

Both attempts will take place at altitude at the Velodromo Bicentenario in Aguascalientes, Mexico. It was there that Bussi, a PhD level mathematician, last broke the Hour Record in October 2023, riding a distance of 50.267km, and making history as the only woman to surpass the 50km benchmark.

“I am over the moon thinking that I will have the chance to attempt to break the UCI Hour Record presented by Tissot again in my life,” Bussi said. “I can say that I started my real cycling career with this record, so it will be the perfect dream to finish it with another record.”

Born in Rome, the 38-year-old began cycling in her mid-twenties, after starting a maths doctorate at Oxford University. She raced for Italian trade teams in 2014 and 2015, but felt uneasy riding in the bunch, so turned her attention to individual efforts.

Bussi first broke the Hour Record in 2018, holding it for three years, before she was beaten by Great Britain's Joss Lowden.

With little financial backing, the Italian’s 2023 Hour Record attempt became reality thanks to a personal crowdfunding campaign, which exceeded its €10,000 target by over €2,000.

Bussi announced her retirement from cycling in September 2024, following an unsuccessful attempt at the 3km individual pursuit record. Her comeback is now scheduled for Friday 9 May.

“To me, [the Hour] record has meant much more than just a sport performance, it actually helped me in the darkest period of my life, so I am deeply and sincerely thankful to all the people who supported me during all these years, as an athlete but most of all as a person,” she said.

“It will be the most challenging Hour of my career as it has been prepared together with the individual pursuit, my other (very different!) love. I think it would be a beautiful historical moment for women’s cycling to be able to hold both the records at the same time, so I am honored to try!”

Donations can be made to Bussi's record-hunting via her GoFundMe page.