Drops rider Joscelin Lowden has set a new – albeit unofficial – UCI World Hour Record. The 33-year-old Briton was reported to have set a new benchmark by her personal coach and Eolo-Kometa directeur sportif Sean Yates.
Lowden rode a claimed 48.160 kilometres during her effort in a training simulation at Manchester Velodrome, according to a Tweet by Ribble Weldtite rider Dan Bigham.
The current World Hour Record for women, set by Italian Vittoria Bussi at altitude in Mexico in 2018, stands at 48.007 kilometres. That benchmark will still stand, however, as Lowden's effort did not meet UCI criteria for an official World Hour Record attempt.
The required criteria for an official attempt includes: electronic time-keeping as well as two approved manual timekeepers, authorisation from the UCI and relevant national federations, on-site verification by a UCI commissaire, and material approval by the UCI Technical department, among other specifics.
Lowden was part of the bronze-medal winning Mixed Relay TTT team at the Yorkshire Worlds in 2019, also taking seventh at the British time trial Championships the same year. She will race her third year at Drops in 2021, having previously raced for Sarah Storey's Storey Racing team.
Last season, Lowden's only major road action with Drops came at the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, where she took 12th overall, though last September she won the British 25-mile Championships near Loughborough, covering the 40.23-kilometre course in a time of 52:14.
Unlike the men's record, which has seen five attempts – including Victor Campenaerts' 55.098-kilometre record in 2019 – in the past two years, the women's World Hour Record has not been attempted since Bussi's ride in September 2018. The record was previously held by Evelyn Stevens and Bridie O'Donnell.
Cyclingnews has contacted Drops for comment.
