Alex Dowsett's attempt to break the UCI Hour Record set by Victor Kampenaerts did not succeed Wednesday, nor did he break the British record, but he did achieve his main goal of raising awareness of hemophilia.

Indeed, the 33-year-old, who has a hereditary bleeding disorder, fell short of the 55.089 km record, running 54.555 km, but donations continued to be collected on the Hemophilia Association's fundraising page set up for the event. The amount raised counted 22,356.10 pounds, far exceeding the goal of 15,000 pounds.

"My biggest failure today is that I didn't try, and that's the message I want to send out. 'Growing up, I was constantly told what I couldn't do. My mother, father, and I knew what we couldn't do: play soccer, rugby, boxing, etc. And I was able to carve out a great career out of adversity."

"That should be the message. Sometimes life is against you. It's how you deal with it."

Dowsett, winner of two stages of the Giro d'Italia and a six-time British Time Trial champion, once held the UCI Hour Record for just over a month. Dowsett clocked 52.937 km in Manchester in May 2015, and Bradley Wiggins topped it with 54.526 km in June. After Wiggins set the time, several attempts were made, but the record did not fall again until Campenaerts came along and the Belgian ran 55.089 km on April 16, 2019.

Since then, others have attempted to break the record, but Campenaerts' distance has so far been unshaken by these challenges: in October, Dan Bingham ran 54.723 km; in May, Dowsett ran 55.723 km; and in May, Dowsett ran 55.723 km. In other words, Dowsett surpassed Wiggins' record and his own record from 2015, but did not even reach the new national record at a distance of 54.555 km.

Before the challenge, Dowsett expressed his frustration, saying that in 2015 he had done what he needed to do to break the UCI Hour Record, but at the end he knew he still had more power. This time, however, after all that effort, there was no hesitation.

"This is as far as I could go, and I am proud that I covered the distance today, but the most important point of today was bringing awareness to hemophilia," Dowsett said.

In 2016, Dowsett founded a charity that encourages young people with bleeding disorders to participate in sports, particularly swimming and cycling, as a way to manage their condition.

"It was a difficult time for my family because we didn't have any money to set up a sports fund at my charity Little Bleeders, especially through COVID," Dowsett said.

"I've had countless messages from parents saying they were struggling to send their kids to swim lessons because they didn't have the money.

"Success or failure, that was the theme of the day.

Click here to visit Dowsett's Just Giving page, which is accepting donations for the Hemophilia Association.