Filippo Ganna has postponed his tilt at the UCI Hour Record, which had been pencilled in for Grenchen in late August. In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian said his attempt would be delayed until after the UCI Road World Championships or perhaps until 2023.
"It's already postponed, it won't be in August," Ganna told La Gazzetta. "I wanted to think only about the Tour de France, without having any other thoughts in my head. After the Tour, we'll decide more or less when to go for it. I think should be after the World Championships."
Ganna is expected to defend his time trial title at the Road Worlds in Wollongong in September before riding the track Worlds at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome, which will be the site of the track events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. If he does not tackle the Hour Record in early Autumn, any attempt will instead be delayed until 2023.
"As I've always said, it's not a priority for me," Ganna said. "A lot of people had asked me to try to do it, but it wasn't something that came from me. In any case, we'll wait a bit longer."
Ganna was slated to attempt the Hour Record on August 23 or 24 in Grenchen. The record is currently held by Victor Campenaerts, who set a mark of 55.089km in Aguascalientes in April 2019. The Belgian suggested last winter that Ganna could push the record beyond 57km if he were to attempt it. The most recent high-profile tilt at Campenaerts' record came from Alex Dowsett, who covered 54.555km last November.
Ganna is currently in action in his debut Tour de France. The Italian was the favourite to win the opening time trial in Copenhagen but his effort was tempered by a flat tyre and he finished fourth as Yves Lampaert claimed a surprise victory.
Although Ganna's primary role is in support of Geraint Thomas, currently third overall, he had the freedom to join the break that decided stage 13 on Friday, but he had to settle for sixth place in Saint-Étienne as Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) claimed the day.
"Getting into breaks like this at the Tour isn't easy and I paid for it in the finale, but Pedersen was in great form, and I can only congratulate him because he was the strongest," Ganna said. "I don't think I would have been able to follow him in any case. The heat made itself felt and I suffered a bit with it."
