Joss Lowden announces Hour Record attempt

Joss Lowden has announced an official Hour Record attempt, after she smashed the previous record in training earlier this year.

The British pro, who races for Drops-Le Col s/b Tempur on the road, will head to Switzerland to try and break the prestigious women’s world record on the track, in the hopes of beating the current record set in 2018. 

Lowden will need to ride 48.008km in 60 minutes to break the current Hour Record, set by Victoria Bussi. 

The record attempt will take place at the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen between September 30 and October 1.  

Lowden, 33, has reason to be confident about her attempt after she unofficially broke the existing record during a training simulation in February. 

Her coach Sean Yates and British time trial specialist Dan Bigham both announced that Lowden had beaten the record, riding a distance of 48.160km - 153m further than the current distance. 

The current record was set by Italian Vittoria Bussi in September 2018, at the high-altitude Aguascalientes velodrome in Mexico. Bussi’s record was 27 metres further than the previous record. 

The Hour Record is a historic achievement in cycling, dating back to 1876 when Frank Dodds rode 26km on a penny-farthing.

Since that initial attempt, the record has been held by some of the biggest names in cycling.

In 2014, the rules for record attempts were revised, as the UCI now only accepts records set on approved track pursuit bikes.

Since the rule change, only seven attempts have been made to break the women’s record. 

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The current men’s record is held by Belgium’s Victor Campenaerts, who rode to 55.089km in April 2019 at Aguascalientes. 

More details on the broadcast and timings will be confirmed soon.