Ganna Considering Hour Record Challenge for 2022

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Ganna Considering Hour Record Challenge for 2022

If anyone can take the UCI Hour Record away from Belgium's Victor Campenaert, who ran 55.089 km in 2019, it is Italy's Filippo Ganna.

In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport during the Trento Festival of Sport, Ganna revealed that he is considering challenging the record after a 30-minute test at an average speed of about 57.5 km/h earlier this year.

Campenaerts broke the record (54.526 km) set by Bradley Wiggins in 2015 at the Aguascalientes Bicentenary Velodrome in the highlands of Mexico. More recently, Dan Bigham ran 54.723 km at the Glenhen Velodrome, taking the British record from Wiggins.

Ganna admitted that the 30-minute test took a toll on him. He said, "After the Giro, after a series of high altitudes, I tried in Montichiari. The test only lasted 30 minutes and after that I really lost heart. I realized that you have to plan everything well and that it takes an incredible effort," Ganna said.

"We need to consider it in the future. That would be in January. Maybe we will attack next summer. Let's hope that one day we can uncork a nice bottle of rosé to celebrate the success of the world time record attempt."

Ganna has previously discussed an Hour Record attempt, first setting the individual Pursuit record at the 2019 Minsk World Cup and then trying again after lowering the record at the 2020 UCI Track World Championships.

That record was later broken by American Ashton Lambie at the Aguascalientes Velodrome, but Ganna's mark remains the best recorded at sea level.

The Italian team broke the Team Pursuit record twice at the Tokyo Olympics, shaving more than two seconds off the 3:42.032 record set by Denmark in 2020.

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