Filippo Ganna will attempt the UCI Hour Record on Saturday, October 8 at the Grenchen Velodrome, aiming to surpass Ineos Grenadiers' performance engineer Dan Bigum, who recently clocked 55.548 km.

Ganna had planned an attack on the hour record in the summer after his Tour de France debut, but his plans were postponed.

The October attempt will take place after the UCI Road World Championships time trial in Australia this weekend and before the Track World Championships in Paris.

Ganna will compete in the elite men's time trial on Sunday, hoping to take the rainbow jersey for the third year in a row. He will not compete in the road race and will return home to prepare for the Hour Record Challenge.

Ganna's Hour Record attempt clashes with this year's Il Lombardia, but he will begin his ride at 8 p.m. local time to avoid a conflict with the end-of-season Italian classic race.

"I think I can break the record," Ganna told a press conference from Australia. 'An hour is not a long time, but it's an intense hour. It's definitely going to hurt.

"It will be interesting to see how my body holds up and how far I can go. It's a chance to test my physical and mental limits. Participating in such a prestigious competition is an important step in my career."

Ganna is the leading contender for a third straight time trial world title on Sunday, but he dismissed the possibility of Australia.

"This year the racing was more intense than ever and the expectations were higher. It's all about how my legs and head fit together. When I cross the finish line, we will see the result," Ganna said, avoiding naming Lemko Evenpoel as his biggest rival.

"It's true that Evenpoel is in really good shape this time of year. But I would rather concentrate on myself and my performance than on the others.

Bike sponsor Pinarello has developed a new track bike for Ganna's hour record attempt.

"I'm training on the new Pinarello bike and I like it, it's very fast. It's another step forward for equipment that is already at a high level," Ganna said

. [Our partners are doing their part, including Pinarello, the new prototype bike, and a full custom skin suit made by BioRacer. It feels really good to step into the velodrome. Mentally, I'll probably stretch a few more meters."

In August 19,

Bigum broke the hour record in the same Swiss arena in Grenchen with his superior aerodynamics and technique.

A part-time rider, Bigam joined the staff of Ineos Grenadiers this year as a performance engineer and became part of the UCI Biological Passport test pool, which also gave him training time for the challenge.

He played a key role in Ganna's preparation for his own challenge, improving Victor Kampenaerts' previous record by 459 meters.

"We have been preparing for this exciting event for the last year," said Ganna. Multiple layers of thought have gone into the planning of this event to ensure that Filippo arrives at the start line in Switzerland with the best possible equipment to maximize his chances of success," said Rod Ellingworth, vice president of Ineos Grenadiers

"When we take on an event like this, we take no chances. Constant refinement of what we do and how we do it is part of the Ineos Grenadiers team's genes. It's exciting to work with some of the best minds in the business." This kind of care and consideration shows how much we want our athletes to do well."

Cycling News will post the full record of Ganna's Hour Record Challenge on October 8.