Joss Lowden's Hour Record LIVE: Updates as British rider takes on prestigious track record

Afternoon folks! 

Alex Ballinger here, digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com, bringing you the live updates from Joss Lowden's Hour Record attempt. 

Lowden is set to push off at 4pm! 

The record Lowden is aiming for is 48.007km, which she set at altitude on the Aguascalientes velodrome in Mexico back in 2016. 

For the kit nerds out there, we also have the full list of equipment Lowden will be using, including the now famous POC Tempor helmet. 

Here is the breakdown: 

Frame: Argon 18 Electron Pro
Wheels & Tyres: FFWD Disc-T SL, Vittoria Pista Speed 2.0 23c
Pedals: Speedplay Aero
Chainset: Wattshop Cratus with Izumi KAI chain
Gearing: 64x15
Bar: Wattshop Pentaxia Olympic with Wattshop Anemoi extensions
Kit: Custom made Le Col x McLaren Project Aero Skinsuit
Helmet: POC Tempor 

Lowden's partner and aero expert Dan Bigham has just walked out onto track with Lowden's bike. 

Dan will be taking on his own Hour Record tomorrow, as he tries to break the British record.

But today is all about Lowden, who is hoping to make history. 

Our writer Jonny Long spoke to Lowden during the World Championships earlier this month, where Lowden spoke about the record. 

Here's what she had to say: "I'm a bit daunted, you kind of start to think 'ah that's quite a big statement', like when you go for an Hour Record you're sort of saying 'I'm better than any other female that's come before me that's tried that' and sometimes I think is that really a statement I want to make? My style is more to kind of slip under the radar and just go and do things quietly and then afterwards go 'that was really good'. 

"But you kind of realise that people want to see it because it's exciting and it's a good thing for women's cycling...there's so much hype around the men doing it. There's not really enough about the women so I'm hoping that it will make other women do it. I mean if you sent Ellen [Van Dijk - the new women's time trial world champion] out to do that record it would be amazing, I mean give me a moment with it first...if I get it." 

Lowden is out in the track centre and is just putting together the last touches of her preparation. 

She's fully kitted up, bit of chalk on her hands and she's onto the track.

The first lap of an Hour Record is a really tough balance, as you need to lay down the power to get up to speed as quick as possible, but without exerting yourself too much so you suffer later in the ride. 

It's the highest power you'll hit on the whole ride, but how much is the perfect amount? Lowden will have spent hours perfecting every detail of this ride.  

She's in the start gate now, looking tense but ready to go. 

10 seconds and counting. 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and we're away.

60 minutes alone with the track, this is such a brutal challenge. 

Lowden is up to speed and in position, 32.3km/h average for that first lap.

She's ramping up the pace now, up to 38.6km/h. 

Onto the fourth lap and Lowden is ever so slightly up on the target, .3 of a second.

But with such a long way to go that is no indicator of how this right might go. She's covered 1.5km in the first two minutes. 

14 laps down now for Lowden, 3.5km covered in 4-49.

She's just .139 faster than the record at the moment. It seems like Lowden is trying to ride as close to the record as possible in the opening section, before she then ups the power later in the rider to try and gain extra time. 

Lowden is averaging 47.193km/h so far after 25 laps, she's .7 of a second up on the current world record pace, so she's ramping up the speed now.  

Eight minutes out of the 60 done so far. 

She just clipped the curb there slightly on the inside of the track, a sketchy moment but she seems to have recovered and is still on good pace.

Ramping up the speed now, she's 1.4 seconds up on record pace and looking comfortable. 

A reminder that the current record is just over 48km covered in 60 minutes.

That record was also set at altitude in Aguascalientes, whereas Lowden is nowhere near as high above sea level, which shows how strong she must be. 

Here's a video of Lowden's start: 

11km into the ride, 14 minutes have gone! That's 45 laps of this track in Switzerland. 

Lowden is really powering up now, she's 3.4 seconds ahead of World Record pace, so she could be on target to smash the existing record if she keeps this up. 

Lowden needs to beat 48.007km to take the record.  

Wow so far this has been an outstanding ride. 

We've just hit the 15km mark, 61 laps. 

Lowden is five seconds ahead of world record pace, averaging 47.9km/h so far, as she continues to gradually increase the pace. 

That's 24 minutes covered, Lowden has done 19km so far with an average speed of 48.092km/h.

She's seven seconds ahead of the record pace, this is looking like a phenomenal ride as she continues to up the speeds.  

Lowden has just hit the half way mark! 30 minutes covered and she's done 24km so far, average speed is 48.1km/h. 

She needs to average just over 48km/h to break the record and she's 11 seconds up on WR pace. 

Still looking so steady and smooth on the bike as she continues to up the effort. This really is a phenomenal ride. 

We've just passed the 100 lap mark, amazing stuff from Lowden. 

Lowden is still tearing this track up.

34km covered in the first 42 minutes, and she's 20 seconds up on record pace.  

48.3km/h average speed for the first 137 laps. 

This looks like a record breaking pace. 18 minutes remaining.  

Down to the final 12 minutes now and Lowden is at 39km. She's still comfortably within the world record pace, now 25 seconds up on the pace she needs to beat the record. 

158 laps covered in 48 minutes. 

Inside the final 10 minutes! This is where it really hurts. Nine minutes this deep into the ride is going to feel like forever, but Lowden looks like she's about to break the world record. 

41km covered in 52 minutes, average speed of 48.399km.

She needs to break through 48.007km, but she's 26 seconds up on that pace she needs to take the record.  

Just five minutes left! 44km covered, she has just 4km to cover. 

Lowden has put in a flawless ride here, 27 seconds up on the record. 

177 laps of the Velodrome Suisse so far.  

45km covered! four minutes to cover 3km now. 

Fantastic stuff. She's starting to suffer now as she veers across the track and rocks left and right in the saddle.  

She's done 184 of the 192 laps she needs to take the Hour Record. 

Just two minutes left, now the finish is in sight but she's 28 seconds ahead of pace.  

Just 1,008m left to break the record! Final 90 seconds! 

Two more laps is all she needs to cover in the next minute. 

One lap left! less than a minute left to ride.  

SHE'S DONE IT! Joss Lowden has broken the Hour Record 

Final 20 seconds and she smashed through the record 

48.4km! She has beaten the record by about 400 metres. Absolutely phenomenal ride.  

Joss Lowden is the new women's Hour Record holder, having just gone two laps further than Vittoria Bussi's previous record. 

Absolutely stunning stuff on the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen.  

Here's what Lowden had to say after breaking the women's Hour Record:

Relieved but also I think I was a bit dramatic. It was really worrying and nerves were to the extreme, a lot of self doubt but actually it wasn’t that bad. 

When i came back from altitude at the beginning of September, I just remember thinking ‘oh gosh’ you start to question your preparation, I started to question why I did it off the back off three races at the World Championships. A lot of people said that’s not good preparation for the Hour and they weren’t wrong, it wasn’t. But it was enough to do what I wanted to do and what I needed to do. I’m pleased with how it went. I’m pleased I pushed through with my plan. 

It’s so easy to say it in hindsight, but I started and I knew I could ride the record split comfortably in theory, so I just had to trust that,  I knew that if I sat below that I would be okay.

There was a point where Dan told me to push on and you can put this on the shelf. I thought ‘do I go for that or do I play it safe?’ I went somewhere in the middle. In terms of game face there’s been highs and lows. I definitely can be quite calm on some days. I have had a really good team supporting me into this with Dand and my parents, my coach Sean, Le Col, all my friends.  

Lowden set a new record of 48.406km in 60 minutes, breaking the previous record by almost 400m. 

Check out the full story about Lowden's ride here: 

Joss Lowden smashes Hour Record