Filippo Ganna in no rush to extend his new Hour Record

Italian says if he has a go at beating his own record, it will be before he retires, like Bradley Wiggins

Filippo Ganna breaks the world Hour Record
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Having just set the furthest ever distance officially recorded for the Hour Record on Saturday, a massive 56.792km, Filippo Ganna is in no rush to try and go even further.

The Italian Ineos Grenadier rider not only smashed his colleague Dan Bigham's record distance by 1.244km but managed to better the 56.375km mark set by Chris Boardman in 1996, the Human Best Effort performance.

It seems plausible that the record is now out of reach for a generation, such is the distance that the powerhouse rider has set.

Speaking to the media following his successful attempt, the result of months of work and research, the 26-year-old said: "I think I'll never do [it] again."

“If I do it in the future [it will be] before going to retire like Wiggins, but I don't think before.”

Bradley Wiggins set a distance of 54.526 km in 2015, just after he had left Team Sky and was essentially winding down his road career. Considering Ganna is just 26, it might be a while before he has another tilt at the Hour Record, if he does at all.

The Italian said that his attempt had begun as planned, naturally, before ramping up in the closing minutes.

“In the start, nothing,” he said when asked what he was thinking during his laps of the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland. “Just the normal protocol - to take the position and follow the line.”

However, as his speed was clearly up, and he was able to think about beating Boardman's record, he started to consider breaking 57km. “After 35 minutes, I say okay maybe I can do the 57k," he said. "But then I start suffering a lot for the position for my balls.”

It was in the closing ten minutes that he was forced to re-evaluate and aim for breaking the record rather than getting to the magical 57km. He said he was aiming to “not lose time, because the job is just to arrive, and we are doing an amazing job, all together.”

Filippo Ganna breaks the world Hour Record

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ganna did not support the theory that other riders, like a Remco Evenepoel, could beat the record, especially without the support of Ineos. He rode a special 3D-printed Pinarello Bolide and wore a custom skinsuit worth thousands of pounds.

“If they do I’m happy… but I think I have the best team for trying to do this,” Ganna said. “Maybe if they joined the team they can try.

"I think Ineos followed well what I wanted to do,” he added. “I think this result is not just because of my legs or my performance, but is more one effort of Team Ineos.”

Boardman, the man who set the previous benchmark for best overall effort, unrestricted, tweeted: "Congratulations @gannafilippo haven’t watched one in quarter of a century, glad I tuned in, a beautiful thing to witness."

Bigham, the previous Hour Record holder, said: “A massive kudos to Filippo for that historic ride. I know the commitment, determination and work that’s needed to put in a performance like that. It’s fantastic that this ambitious project came together on the night. Having my record beaten by Filippo was always part of the plan and it’s great to have such a deserving teammate as the new record holder.”

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Adam Becket
Senior news and features writer

Adam is Cycling Weekly’s senior news and feature writer – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing, speaking to people as varied as Demi Vollering to Philippe Gilbert. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.