Tony Martin says that “it is not impossible” to overturn Bradley Wiggins’s UCI Hour Record, but says he is not currently focusing on chasing the record.
The three-time world time trial champion is currently racing with his Etixx – Quick-Step team at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he is preparing for a Tour de France campaign which begins with a Prologue time trial and an opportunity for Martin to take the maillot jaune.
Martin has previously stated his desire to have a go at the prestigious record, but has yet to reveal a formalised plan for making an attempt.
“I’m not really working on that,”the German told Sporza.
“The bar is very high, but it is not impossible. I would like to test myself and see how far I get. But before you have to make time in your programme. I am now working on my preparation for the Tour de France.”
Wiggins smashed the previous record held by Britain’s Alex Dowsett (Movistar) by over 1.5km last Sunday at the Lee Valley Velodrome, setting a benchmark of 54.526km for any potential contenders to chase.
Both Dowsett and Wiggins have significant track experience, as did previous holder Rohan Dennis (BMC), which seemingly made it easier for them to adapt to the demands of the Hour. Martin, who has never had a focused campaign on the track, may have to spend longer getting used to riding as efficiently as possible on the boards.
“I have no experience with that kind of [track] work,” he continued. “I am not familiar with the discipline.”
Martin told Cycling Weekly in January 2015 that he and his team were still working on plans for the attempt, with an announcement due sometime this year.
“We are still planning and there are a lot of things to do, so I’m not 100 per cent sure what the timeline will be,” Martin said. “But we’ll speak about it and I think we will announce in 2015 what the plan is.”
On board at the Critérium du Dauphiné stage two
