British cyclist Joss Lowden sets new unofficial women’s hour record
The unofficial women's hour record now stands at 48.160km, set during a training session, and will not stand in the record books.
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Joss Lowden of the U.K.-based Drops Cycling unofficially rewrote the women’s world hour record on February 10th.
Lowden’s new mark of 48.160 kilometers would have eclipsed the UCI-recognized mark of 48.007km, however, since it was done outside of an official declared attempt on the record, the new mark will not go into the record books.
Related:
- Team Drops hopes a Virtual Tour de France win leads to sponsorship and WorldTeam status
- Current hour record holder Victor Campenaerts responds to Alex Dowsett’s announcement of second attempt on title
In order for a record to be official, a UCI representative must be on-site during the attempt, and a rider must also meet criteria regarding equipment used, apparel worn during the attempt, be enrolled in a doping control program, and meet other standards.
Lowden set the unofficial record during a training ride, Wednesday, on what was reported as a “slow” day.
When conditions are referred to as being (relatively) slow, it may be an indicator that a specific track was not environmentally controlled for air temperature and pressure to allow for the fastest conditions.
The current women’s hour record was set by Italian cyclist Vittoria Bussi on September 13, 2018, in Aguascalientes, Mexico — reputed to be one of the fastest facilities in the world — at an elevation of 2,000m.
Lowden, racing for Drops, a UCI Contiental team, was 12th at the 2020 Setmana Ciclista Valenciana.
She has not indicated if she will make an official attempt on the hour record.
Late in 2020, Alex Dowsett had planned an attempt on the men’s hour record held by Victor Campanaerts, however after contracting COVID-19 he had to delay his attempt indefinitely.
The current men’s hour record stands at 55.089km, set by Campanaerts at Aguascalientes, on April 16, 2019.