Victor Campenearts sets new speed record on road bike

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) congratulates Victor Campenaerts on his remarkable new Tissot UCI Hour Record (55.089 km) set on April 16, 2019 at the Velodromo Bicentenario in Aguascalientes (Mexico) at 1,800 meters above sea level.

The Belgian, who rides for the Lotto-Soudal UCI WorldTour team, completed xxx meters more than Bradley Wiggins, who posted the previous record of 54.526 km at Lee Valley VeloPark in London, United Kingdom, on June 7, 2015.

With this latest achievement, the 27-year-old Flemish rider has cemented his status as one of the world's leading figureheads in the race against the clock. Campenaerts, who won the men's time trial bronze medal behind Rohan Dennis (AUS) and Tom Dumoulin (NED) at last year's UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, is the leading expert in Europe. He won the continental title in 2017 and 2018.

Since his performance in Innsbruck, the reigning Belgian champion has focused on preparing for the UCI Hour Record set by Tissot. After a trial run at Vélodrome Suisse in Granges, Switzerland, he traveled to Namibia for two months of altitude training. On March 13-19, he competed in Tirreno-Adriatico, his only early-season race and a UCI WorldTour event that includes a team time trial on the opening day and an individual time trial on the final day. Campenaerts flew to Mexico in late March to acclimatize and complete his preparations.

After breaking the UCI hour record, which was stopped by Tissot, Campenaerts said:

"I'm super happy, I'm part of the best riders in the hour record. I thought about it for a long time. I'm happy that I broke the magic mark of 55 kilometers. It was super hard, I was a bit optimistic in the first 30 minutes and then said I had to slow the pace a bit, but still I think I was faster than Wiggins in all parts. The team gave me all the confidence I needed and I was able to answer them in the right way."

"We saw an excellent performance," said a delighted David Lappartient, president of the UCI. "Well done Victor, who had an amazing ride and showed his consistency from the beginning to the end of his attempt, a key factor in his success. Congratulations also to his team Lotto Soudal and to Golazo, who gave Victor the support he needed and created a high-quality event around him, not least with live streaming for the fans. This latest achievement is excellent news for our legendary event, which has seen renewed interest from both male and female riders since we changed our rules. "

In 2014, the UCI hour record set by the Tissot regulations was changed to allow the use of the latest pursuit bikes. Since then, 11 men and six women have tried to make history in this famous event.