Dowsett’s hour record plans up in the air after collarbone fracture

Alex Dowsett’s planned attack on the world hour record on February 27 could be postponed or even abandoned after the rider suffered a fractured collarbone while training on Tuesday.

The Briton’s Movistar team revealed early Wednesday that he had fallen near his home in Essex.

“Pain in his right-hand shoulder forced Dowsett to be moved to a hospital nearby, where radiological examinations confirmed a fracture in his collarbone,” it said.

The team added that the break is severe enough to require surgery and that this will be performed on Thursday.

As a result of this, the planned media day scheduled to be held next Tuesday at London’s Lee Valley VeloPark has been cancelled.

The same location was to be the site of his hour record bid, but there is now a big question mark over that attempt.

The team said that clarification would be made as soon as possible.

“Details on whether Dowsett’s attempt will go on as planned or be postponed will be specified in the next few days, subject to medical examination after his surgery and Dowsett’s own consideration.”

The time trial specialist won the Commonwealth Games TT this season. When he announced his bid in December, he said that while those games, the Olympics and the Tour de France resonate with the general public, that a bigger motivation was providing encouragement to others who also suffer from the blood disorder haemophilia.

There has been a flurry of activity in relation to the world hour record after the UCI relaxed the previous constraints on the bikes which can be used.

The first to break the record in 2014 was Jens Voigt, who covered 51.115 kilometres on September 19 in Grenchen, Switzerland. Next up was the Austrian rider Matthias Brandle, who improved the mark to 51.850 kilometres on October 30 in the UCI’s World Cycling Centre in Aigle.

Since then Dowsett, Jack Bobridge, Rohan Dennis and Thomas Dekker have announced that they will aim for the record. Bobridge’s bid will take place in Melbourne’s DISC velodrome on January 31, while Dennis will make his attempt in Grenchen, Switzerland on February 8.

Dekker’s attempt will take place towards the end of February in Mexico.

As for Dowsett, the coming days will determine if and when he will continue with his own plans.