With British pro cyclist Alex Dowsett announcing his intent to test the hour record on February 27th, 2015, it seems that 2015 will be the year of the Hour Record. Many have seen his bike, but another important part of equipment strategy that many forget about is clothing. When Dowsett takes to the Lee Valley VeloPark Velodrome in London, he will be dressed in a speed suit specifically developed for this event by Endura.
Endura is another one of Movistar’s sponsors that have stepped up to help Dowsett break the record, and they are doing everything they can to help him succeed. Beyond the work they have done with cycling’s number one team in the WorldTour, the Scottish clothing company has focused heavily on improving their aero speed suit. Endura has partnered with Simon Smart of Drag2Zero to refine this part of their kit, ultilizing the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 wind tunnel. During testing, mountains of critical data was collected to refine the suit to what Dowsett will use. Work on the suit will continue up to the final days before the test, in an attempt to squeeze out every extra bit of speed they can.
Dowsett’s attempt has been aptly named, “The Perfect Hour”, and aims to attract more than just hardcore cycling fans. Event organizer James Pope from FACE has put together a top notch event that will include celebrities from they cycling world and beyond.
For the Essex born rider, the hour record attempt is more than just a race against time. As he is diagnosed with haemophilia, Dowsett is using it as a way to inspire kids with rare diseases to rise above their condition. Dowsett is a patron of Haemophilia charity LittleBleeders.com, and feels a responsibility to be a shining example for the organization.
This will be the third attempt at breaking the hour record since the rules were updated from the previous Merckx standards. With riders now able to take advantage of the same modern equipment used in the track pursuit, the mark has regained its relavance in today’s cycling world. Trek Factory Racing’s Jens Voigt was the first to set the new mark at a distance of 51.110km on September 18th, 2014 at the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen, Switzerland. The following month, Matthias Brändle (IAM Cycling) set the latest mark at 51.852km at the World Cycling Center in Aigle, Switzerland.
Tickets for “The Perfect Hour” are available here: http://www.seetickets.com/event/the-perfect-hour-alex-dowsett/lee-valley-velopark/794981/
Details on the attempt’s exact timetable, press accreditations and TV coverage will be announced soon. Fans will be able to follow the preparations for the event through the hashtags #PerfectHour and #UCIHourRecord, at Movistar Team’s Facebook page and on Twitter accounts @alexdowsett, @Movistar_Team and @UCI_cycling.
Heckling Editor, Image Taker, Crash Test Dummy, and Beard Master at Bikeworldnews.com
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