Pros on Bikes – Dennis Gives Views on Possible Performance of One Hour Record Challengers

Dennis hopes Dowsett would have fully recovered from a broken collar bone, to embark on his the record breaking attempt.

The cycling world, is finally emerging out of the rut of its stereotype of doped bikers which marred its reputation in the 1990s and even just a few years ago when Lance Armstrong admitted to drug use. Since 2014, the sport has managed to save face with events like the the one-hour world record, which is currently held by the Australian, Rohan Dennis.

Dennis is facing the likes of Bradley Wiggins and Alex Dowsett who are rivals hoping to bust the world hour record on Saturday, May 2 at at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester. 26 year old Dowsett, had already beat Dennis in the road time trial title at last year’s Commonwealth Games.

Dowsett determined to be always around the mark

Dowsett is a British professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam Movistar Team. According to Australian gambling news, Dennis of course hopes to keep his title. He said “I hope he doesn’t break the record. It does feel like along time ago. It did come and go very quickly and I didn’t take it in like I should have; but I will take it in later on in my career or later this year when I have a bit of a down period.”

Dennis said of Dowsett’s threat “He is obviously a good time trialler. He beat me at the Commonwealth Games last year and he is always around the mark as well. He is a danger and I am hoping obviously that it all goes smoothly for him – like not with mechanicals and what not – and he still doesn’t beat my record. That would be the ideal outcome.”

Wiggins could wiggle his way to a winning record

As for 35 year old Bradley Wiggins, to whom Dennis spoke at Paris-Nice in March, Dennis said that “Obviously I don’t give [any hour riders] too many details, and they don’t give me too many things. It is sort of competition and we don’t want anyone to go quicker – or further than the other. It’s like doing a time trial but everyone does it at a different time. It is out in the open, but it is really not. [Talking it in detail would be] like giving someone an upper hand to beat your record. You wouldn’t do it.”

However, Dennis thinks that Wiggins will win points because of his age and experience as a track rider. Well that’s certainly what his fans, who indulge in online betting on cycling, hope. Dennis believes that there is a 99% chance that Wiggins could beat his record. Dennis explained that as Wiggins is much older and more experienced, he will be a better time triallist than himself, over a longer distance.

Saving energy for this weekend’s Tour of Romandie finish

Dennis continued by saying that “It is a matter of: will he break 53 kilometers; and if he does, by how much? I don’t think he is going to get 54 or 55. People throw stupid numbers like that out there because they believe … Correct me if I am wrong once he has done it, but I have huge doubts he is going to crack 54 or 55. That’s sort of super human stuff. The numbers [for Dennis] were as good as what I thought.”

In the meantime, Dennis who has participated in the Tour of Romandie two times, hopes to maximize his results following Tuesday’s stage one team time trial. During the trial, BMC came sixth. Dennis hopes to gain time in Saturday’s upcoming 167lkm fifth and Queen stage from Fribourg, over three summits and to the mountain finish at Champex-Lac and then reduce time loss as much as possible in Sunday’s sixth and final stage, a 17km time trial around Lausanne.

Dennis hopes to attain peak performance in the Tour de France

Since his world hour record win, Dennis’ cycling season has of course been without much incidents. He even managed to come second behind an in-form Richie Porte in the Australian time trial championship and first at the Tour Down Under, much to the delight of punters who had bet on him under Australian gambling laws, to win.

Dennis held his own in the Paris-Nice, cycling in second behind Polish world road champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep) in the prologue time trial. He hopes to be the winner in the Tour de Romandie too. He will be supporting American general classification contender Tejay van Garderen in the upcoming Tour de France on July 4.