Charlie Tanfield will attempt to break Filippo Ganna’s hour record on Thursday, August 14. This was announced by the UCI in a press release. The 28-year-old Brit will make his hour record attempt in Turkey, on the velodrome in Konya.
The current hour record stands at 56.792 kilometers. Filippo Ganna set this distance on October 8, 2022, in Grenchen, Switzerland. The Italian took the hour record from Dan Bigham, who at that time was still Ganna’s performance manager at INEOS Grenadiers. Two months earlier—also in Grenchen—the Brit had covered 55.548 kilometers in one hour, improving upon Victor Campenaerts’ record of 55.089 km. The latter held the record for a longer period, as his attempt dated back to 2019 in Mexico.
Tanfield rode for Continental teams for years but made little impact on the road. However, he was crowned British Under-23 time trial champion in 2018 and finished fourth among the professionals in 2023. The younger brother of Harrie Tanfield, who raced for TDT-Unibet two years ago, Charlie has been more successful on the track. Notably, he achieved significant results with the British team pursuit squad, winning silver alongside his teammates at the Olympic Games in Paris and gold at the European Championships in Apeldoorn.
Inspired by Wiggins
“I have wanted to try to break the hour record my entire career,” Tanfield says in the UCI press release. “I remember when I joined the British program, Sir Bradley Wiggins held the record. I thought: wow, I want to try that one day too. I chose this year, the year after the Olympics, as the moment when I would have the freedom to attempt it—and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“I have been preparing for this since I resumed training after the Games. I’ve put in months of training to reach this point. On the day itself, my goal is to deliver the perfect ride within my capabilities. If that works and everything falls into place, I’ll be satisfied.”
Incidentally, Tanfield is not the only rider attempting an hour record on August 14. His compatriot William Bjergfelt, a para-athlete, will try to break the record in the C5 category set by Andrea Tarlao. The Italian covered a distance of 47.569 kilometers within an hour in 2014.
