Campenaerts to attack Wiggins' Hour Record in April

European time trial champion Victor Campenaerts formally announced his bid to unseat Bradley Wiggins as the holder of the UCI Hour Record. The Lotto Soudal rider will make his attempt at the Aguascalientes velodrome in Mexico between April 16 and 17 this year.

"The UCI Hour Record is a unique challenge in cycling and to beat it would be a way for me to write a bit of the sport's history," Campenaerts said in a UCI press release.

"I respect Bradley a lot and I do not consider myself as a better athlete than the former Tour de France winner and five-time Olympic champion. However, by making progress and taking into account every possible detail, I hope to have a chance to take over the Hour Record. Personally, the world hour record, the world time trial title and the Olympic time trial title are the three dreams I want to pursue the coming years, starting with the world hour record."

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Wiggins set the UCI Hour Record at 54.526 kilometres in less than ideal conditions at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London in 2015. Since then there have been nine official attempts to beat that mark, three by Dane Martin Toft Madsen, two by his compatriot Mikkel Bjerg, and one by American Tom Zirbel, Swiss riders Micah Gross and Marc Dubois and Dutchman Dion Beukeboom.

Bjerg came the closest last October at age 19, covering a remarkable 53.73km and setting a new Danish record in Odense, Denmark.

The Aguascalientes velodrome is one of the fastest tracks in the world, and Vittoria Bussi set the women's Hour Record mark there in September 2018, covering 48.007km and bettering the mark set by Evelyn Stevens in 2016.

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