Dame Sarah Storey to attempt hour record at Lee Valley VeloPark in London in February
Tuesday 16 December 2014 15:13, UK
Dame Sarah Storey will attempt to break the women’s hour record at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London on February 28.
The 11-time Paralympic gold medal-winner will look to better the current record of 46.065km, which was set by Dutch rider Leontien Zijlaard-van Moorsel in Mexico in 2003.
She is the first female rider to attempt the hour record since a change in rules governing permitted equipment were introduced in May.
Storey said: “I’m excited and nervous at the prospect of being the first woman to take on the record in over a decade.
'Fighting chance'
“I did a couple of days’ testing up at the Manchester Velodrome to try and work out the output that would be involved over an hour to have a realistic chance of challenging the record and we decided that if I can arrive in good shape, I stood a fighting chance.
“Logistically it fits in just about perfectly with the plans I already had put in place for next year, which centre around the UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships at the end of March.”
Storey’s attempt will take place as part of round five of the Revolution Series, which is being held in London on February 27-28.
It comes after two successful attempts at the men’s Hour Record in recent months. German veteran Jens Voigt broke Ondrej Sosenka’s nine-year-old record in September with a distance of 51.110km, before Austria’s Matthias Brandle set a new mark of 51.852km in October.
'Eagerly awaited'
The Hour Record is once again a target of cyclists after the International Cycling Union, the sport's world governing body, changed the rules to allow the use of bikes employed in endurance events on the track.
UCI president Brian Cookson said: "“After two UCI Hour Records in quick succession for the men, I am very pleased that the existing women’s record will now be challenged.
"In amending the regulations, the UCI hoped for exactly this kind of motivation from the world’s best athletes. Dame Sarah Storey’s attempt will be eagerly awaited and I am sure it will prompt other top women riders to try to claim this prestigious record.”
Sir Bradley Wiggins is expected to attempt the men's Hour Record in 2015.
