Filippo Ganna is trying to top 55.548km - follow the action here.
Filippo Ganna is taking on the UCI Hour Record in Grenchen, Switzerland, this evening at 8pm CEST, with the mark of 55.548km to beat - set by his team’s own performance engineer Dan Bigham.
Filippo Ganna is one of the strongest Hour Record contenders in recent history - given his exceptional pedigree in both individual time trial and track cycling.
Alongside Ganna's form, Ineos and Bigham’s focus on performance technology means he is likely to be the best prepared and best equipped of anyone to ever attempt the Hour Record.
You can watch the whole event right here, by clicking play in the embedded video at the top of the page, where live coverage begins 15 minutes before the attempt starts, at 19:45 CEST.
Ganna’s record attempt is also being broadcast live on GCN+ and Ineos Grenadier's YouTube channel. A year’s subscription to GCN will set you back £39.99, while a month-long subscription costs £6.99.
Shooting for 55.548km
Despite being set by his own support staff, the current mark of 55.548km is a considerable target to beat – smashing the record could make or break Ganna's season.
"I’m looking forward to taking this event on, even though it’s going to be an hour of pure suffering. It will be interesting to see how my body holds up, and just how far I can go,” Ganna said after his attempt was confirmed with the UCI.
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"It's a moment where you really get to test your physical and mental limits. To undertake a prestigious event like this is an important step in my career. I have been training on the new bike and it’s super-fast – I like it."
His new bike was revealed earlier this week, the innovative 3D-printed Pinarello Bolide F HR 3D made from scandium-aluminium-magnesium alloy - an early glimpse of the level of technical focus that has gone into this Hour attempt.
Ganna had initially intended to ride the Hour attempt in August but announced in June that he would delay his attempt until after the World Championships.
“The process has always been about Filippo trying to break the record,” Bigham said in an interview with Cyclingnews. “For me, it was a case of having a go at the record in that process as well.”
By 9pm CEST on Saturday, we will know just how successful Ineos’ process has been.
Peter Stuart has been editor of Cyclingnews since March 2022, overseeing editorial output across all of Cyclingnews' digital touchpoints.
Before joining Cyclingnews, Peter was the digital editor of Rouleur magazine. Starting life as a freelance feature writer, with bylines in The Times and The Telegraph, he first entered cycling journalism in 2012, joining Cyclist magazine as staff writer. Peter has a background as an international rower, representing Great Britain at Under-23 level and at the Junior Rowing World Championships.
