Preview: The Hour & The Blink of an Eye

A week without World Tour racing, but not without records

The second week of August arrives with a rare silence in the WorldTour calendar. No stage races, no classics, no major international road events. Yet beneath the surface of this quiet spell stirs a different kind of anticipation: records, not results. In the heat of Konya, Turkey, two cyclists will chase absolute limits — not over days or kilometers, but in the compressed, almost surreal dimensions of the velodrome.

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Charlie Tanfield and the Endless Hour

14 August 2025 – World Hour Record Attempt, Konya Velodrome

In the pantheon of cycling, the hour record is sacred. A pure test of endurance, efficiency, and existential grit. No tactics, no teammates — just a rider, a bike, and the clock.

This Thursday, Charlie Tanfield will take to the boards of the Konya Velodrome in Turkey with one goal: eclipse Filippo Ganna’s 56.792 kilometres, set in Grenchen on 8 October 2022. It remains the furthest any human has ridden under the official rules in sixty minutes.

Tanfield, a 27-year-old British time trial specialist and former world team pursuit champion, faces an Everest of his own design. His attempt won’t just chase a number — it chases a lineage:

🕐 Official UCI Hour Record Holders (1893–2022)

• 56.792 km – Filippo Ganna (ITA), 8 Oct 2022, Grenchen

• 55.548 km – Daniel Bigham (GBR), 19 Aug 2022, Grenchen

• 55.089 km – Viktor Campenaerts (BEL), 16 Apr 2019, Aguascalientes

• 54.526 km – Bradley Wiggins (GBR), 7 Jun 2015, London

• 52.937 km – Alex Dowsett (GBR), 2 May 2015, Manchester

• 52.491 km – Rohan Dennis (AUS), 8 Feb 2015, Grenchen

• 51.852 km – Matthias Brändle (AUT), 30 Oct 2014, Aigle

• 51.110 km – Jens Voigt (GER), 18 Sep 2014, Grenchen

• 49.700 km – Ondřej Sosenka (CZE), 19 Jul 2005, Moscow

• 49.441 km – Chris Boardman (GBR), 27 Oct 2000, Manchester

• 49.431 km – Eddy Merckx (BEL), 25 Oct 1972, Mexico City

• 48.653 km – Ole Ritter (DEN), 10 Oct 1968, Mexico City

• 48.093 km – Ferdinand Bracke (BEL), 30 Oct 1967, Rome

• 47.346 km – Roger Rivière (FRA), 23 Sep 1958, Milan

• 46.923 km – Roger Rivière (FRA), 18 Sep 1957, Milan

• 46.393 km – Ercole Baldini (ITA), 19 Sep 1956, Milan

• 46.159 km – Jacques Anquetil (FRA), 29 Jun 1956, Milan

• 45.848 km – Fausto Coppi (ITA), 7 Nov 1942, Milan

• 45.767 km – Maurice Archambaud (FRA), 3 Nov 1937, Milan

• 45.485 km – Frans Slaats (NED), 29 Sep 1937, Milan

• 45.325 km – Maurice Richard (FRA), 14 Oct 1936, Milan

• 45.090 km – Giuseppe Olmo (ITA), 31 Oct 1935, Milan

• 44.777 km – Maurice Richard (FRA), 29 Aug 1933, Sint-Truiden

• 44.247 km – Oscar Egg (SUI), 18 Aug 1914, Paris – Buffalo II

• 43.775 km – Marcel Berthet (FRA), 20 Sep 1913, Paris – Buffalo II

• 43.525 km – Oscar Egg (SUI), 21 Aug 1913, Paris – Buffalo II

• 42.741 km – Marcel Berthet (FRA), 7 Aug 1913, Paris – Buffalo II

• 42.360 km – Oscar Egg (SUI), 22 Aug 1912, Paris – Buffalo II

• 41.520 km – Marcel Berthet (FRA), 20 Jun 1907, Paris – Buffalo II

• 41.110 km – Lucien Petit-Breton (FRA), 24 Aug 1905, Paris – Buffalo II

• 40.781 km – Willie Hamilton (USA), 9 Jul 1898, Denver

• 39.240 km – Oscar van den Eynde (BEL), 15 Jul 1897, Paris – Municipal

• 38.220 km – Jules Dubois (FRA), 31 Oct 1894, Paris – Buffalo I

• 35.325 km – Henri Desgrange (FRA), 11 May 1893, Paris – Buffalo I

※For attempts not recognised by the UCI – including disqualifications, technological disallowances, or unratified efforts – see the sections 🛠️ Unrecognised or Disqualified Attempts and 🧪 Best Human Effort Performances below.¹

It’s a British tradition as well. From Chris Boardman to Bradley Wiggins, the hour record has become a proving ground for British excellence against the clock — and Tanfield, now stepping from the shadows of track team roles, wants to etch his name alongside theirs.

🇬🇧 Best British Hour Performances

• 56.375 km – Chris Boardman, 6 Sep 1996, Manchester (best human effort)

• 55.548 km – Daniel Bigham, 19 Aug 2022, Grenchen – official record

• 54.723 km – Daniel Bigham, 1 Oct 2021, Grenchen

• 54.555 km – Alex Dowsett, 3 Nov 2021, Aguascalientes

• 54.526 km – Bradley Wiggins, 7 Jun 2015, London

• 52.937 km – Alex Dowsett, 2 May 2015, Manchester

• 52.713 km – Graeme Obree, 27 Apr 1994, Bordeaux

• 51.596 km – Graeme Obree, 17 Jul 1993, Hamar

His target is clear. His margin is narrow. And sixty minutes has never felt so long.

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