Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) says that he had to make an attempt at the Hour Record after he bragged about being able to beat Jens Voigt’s previous record at the Road World Championships in Ponferrada last year.

The Australian will make his attempt on February 8 at the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen, the same place where Voigt set his record before it was later beaten by Matthias Brändle (IAM Cycling). But Dennis will potentially be chasing a currently unknown target if compatriot Jack Bobridge (Team Budget Forklifts) is able to break the 51.852km record, when he makes his attempt on January 31 at the International Sports Centre in Melbourne.

Those attempts will then be swiftly followed up by Britain’s Alex Dowsett (Movistar), who is scheduled to take on the record in London on February 27 if he manages to recover from a collarbone break in time.

Dennis, who was speaking on camera to his team BMC, also said that the UCI’s rule change to allow standard aerodynamic bikes was a big factor in his decision, stating that he was not keen on an attempt with the previous rules.