Dan Bigham has been working with HUUB as an aerodynamic specialist for many years, using his expertise to make athletes faster. But today is his day as supported by HUUB and WattShop, Dan will make his attempt at the British hour record. The current record of 54.526km is held by Sir Bradley Wiggins.
After an intense preparation period over the past 18 months, and with the full support of WattShop and HUUB Design, Dan now feels ready to take the next step by attempting to break the British Hour. With four full test runs since February 2020, a package of new componentry upgrades and a peak of form following the Tour of Britain and UCI Road World Championships now is the right time.
Following a reverse-engineering approach, we’ve worked to understand the demands of the hour, where the areas for improvement lie, and how we can work to optimise these to offer Dan the best chance of breaking the record. This has resulted in doing many things differently to previous hour record attempts, from gearing selection and pacing through to atmospheric conditions and nutrition strategies.
Dan will attempt the British record, which is also the sea-level world record, this Friday at 15:00 BST on the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland. Although not renowned for its outright speed, the velodrome has amazingly stable atmospherics that are well suited to a record attempt. Following a hopefully successful attempt, Dan will then begin preparation for an attempt on the World Hour Record in 2022.
This event has been primarily supported by HUUB and WattShop, however, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all partners who have played a part in this journey so far, of which there are many.
Dan has said, "The hour is an event I’ve always been attracted to. From my original #RaptorHour on Palmer Park in 2014, through attending Wiggin’s historical ride in 2015 and the numerous practice runs I’ve had since, the hour continues to make me more passionate about finding out where my limits lie. This ongoing project has had a huge amount of support from many people and companies, for which I’m eternally grateful for all the time and effort they put in to help me and my ambitions. It’s unearthed so many new avenues for investigation and optimisation that have been thoroughly enjoyable in pursuing. Hopefully, I can put in the ride I know I’m capable of on Friday."
Dan's coach and HUUB’s Head of Cycling Jacob Tipper of JT Performance Coaching commented, "Dan's unique attempt at tackling this most prestigious of cycling records has been superb. No other rider takes such a holistic view on their own performance. Breaking down to the finest of details the requirements, the limitations, and the potential enhancements that can be made to be successful. While also allowing the freedom to experiment with different variables, some of which have failed, some of which may be revolutionary to the way the record is attempted. Without a doubt, this has been a wonderfully exciting project the full team are proud to be a part of, and we look forward to Friday in great anticipation!
We are all routing for you Dan – go out there and smash it!
The live stream presented by HUUB is available on The Cycling Dane YouTube channel from 15:00BST on Friday 1st October.