Worlds TT bronze medallist tests himself at Grenchen velodrome
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Victor Campenaerts (Belgium)(Image credit: Getty Images)
Victor Campenaerts with the bronze from the 2018 UCI Road World championships time trial(Image credit: Getty Images)
Victor Campenaerts (Belgium)(Image credit: Getty Images)
Victor Campenaerts takes a bite out of his gold medal(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Victor Campenaerts of Belgium and Team Lotto Soudal wins the Belgian time trial title in 2018(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Soudal) wants to try to set a new Hour Record, currently held by Britain's now-retired Bradley Wiggins, and thinks the 54.526km distance he needs to surpass is within his capabilities.
The Belgian rode to a bronze medal behind Australia's Rohan Dennis and Dutchman Tom Dumoulin at the elite men's individual time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria, on Wednesday, and wasted no time in testing out his legs at the velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland, on Saturday, according to Het Nieuwsblad.
"It was very positive," 26-year-old Campenaerts told the Belgian newspaper. "I rode at an average of 54.8 kph, and in the last four laps I did 60 kph, to see what was left in the tank."
Such speeds would eclipse Wiggins' 54.526 kph, which he set at the London velodrome in June 2015 – but Campenaerts' efforts in Switzerland on Saturday were only achieved over the course of half an hour.
The current European time trial champion, who defended his title in Glasgow, Scotland, in August, nevertheless feels that the distance set by Wiggins is achievable.
"I think the Hour Record is within my capabilities because Wiggins didn't have the ideal temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions for his attempt," said Campenaerts, who has not yet set a date for his own attempt at the record, but says it's likely to take place before the Tokyo Olympic Games, which start in July 2020.
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