2012 Olympian and five-time UCI Road World Championships medalist Evelyn Stevens (San Francisco, Calif./Boels-Dolmans) will attempt to break the Women’s UCI Hour Record on Feb. 27 at 12 p.m. MST/ 8 p.m. CET in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The current record of 46.882 km was set by Bridie O’Donnell (AUS) on Jan. 22, 2016, in Adelaide, Australia.
“While attempting to break the UCI Hour Record is exciting for me and my career, I’m also proud to help shine a light on women’s cycling,” Stevens said. “This will be a special day, and it’s an honor to make my record attempt under the new dome at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center Velodrome.”
The UCI Hour Record measures an athlete’s distance traveled on a velodrome track in 60 minutes. Stevens, a road cyclist, will be the first American to attempt the record since Molly Shaffer Van Houweling set the record of 46.273 km on Sept. 12, 2015, in Aguascalientes, Mexico.
In May 2014, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) modernized and simplified the rules regarding the UCI Hour Record; the record can now be tackled using any bicycle that conforms to the rules defining the characteristics of the bicycles used in endurance track events. Following the rule change, eight men have challenged the record, with Bradley Wiggins (GBR) setting the current bar of 54.526 km. In addition to Bridie O’Donnell and Molly Shaffer Van Houweling, Sarah Storey (GBR) also had a go at the women’s record.
UCI President Brian Cookson welcomed the news of the latest attempt: “The current Women’s UCI Hour Record will be only five weeks old when Evelyn Stevens tries to establish a new mark. Bridie O’Donnell set a tough mark last month, and I am looking forward tremendously to following this next challenge. It is clear that the excitement surrounding the iconic UCI Hour Record will be just as high in 2016 as it was last year when we saw six attempts on the men’s record and two on the women’s record.”
Stevens will attempt to break the record at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center Velodrome under the newly constructed winter dome. A 333.3-meter banked cement track, the Olympic Training Center Velodrome sits at just over 6,000 feet above sea level.
“We are thrilled that Evie is attempting to break this very prestigious record here in the United States in front of an international audience,” said USA Cycling CEO Derek Bouchard-Hall. “Having one of our top American athletes chase history under our new Olympic Training Center Velodome will be very special. We are grateful to the U.S. Olympic Committee for making this event possible with the recent dome and in helping us host this event later this month.”
Fans can watch the UCI Hour Record attempt live across the globe via a free live stream. Details will be posted at usacycling.org and uci.ch.