As announced in September, Team Ineos-Grenadiers’ Italian time trial ace Filippo Ganna had made it the final goal of his 2022 season to set a new UCI hour record. 

Ganna today decisively delivered on his promise when he set a new UCI hour record in the Tissot velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland on his Pinarello bike. Ganna set a remarkable pace that made him smash the previous hour record by 1.244 kilometers. Ganna covered a remarkable 56.792 kilometers, thereby dethroning previous record holder and teammate Dan Bigham.

26-year-old Ganna won the individual time trial world championships in 2020 and 2021, took victories in Tirreno-Adriatico, Deutschland Tour and Criterium du Dauphine stages this season, and stunned cycling fans around the world by winning four stages of the 2020 Giro d’Italia.

“To arrive at this amazing goal is fantastic for me and the staff who has worked for a long time to help me obtain this result. This morning I was thinking about just trying to break the record by one meter, but in the end I said why not try to do a new unified record. This result is amazing. 56.792 kilometers is not bad.”

Ganna has been working on his hour record attempt for more than a year while also participating in races for his Ineos team. Ganna said he believes he will be able to improve further on his newly gained hour record by making an hour record attempt at a different point of the season.

“Next time maybe I’ll try in another part of the season with fresher legs and we can go higher again. This result is amazing. Now I’m focusing on recovery and trying to celebrate together with everyone here.”

Ganna recently signed a contract extension with his Ineos-Grenadiers outfit allowing him to remain with the team through 2027.

Previous hour record holder and teammate Dan Bigham said he was happy with Ganna’s performance. 

“A massive kudos to Filippo for that historic ride. I know the commitment, determination and work that’s needed to put in a performance like that. It's fantastic that this ambitious project came together on the night. Having my record beaten by Filippo was always part of the plan and it's great to have such a deserving teammate as the new record holder,” Bigham explained.

Ineos-Grenadiers deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth said “This is a much deserved honour for Filippo. It is a huge undertaking but he put in a massive effort and smashed it, and to have beaten Chris Boardman’s benchmark time is something very special to us as well, it was something we all secretly hoped to achieve, which reaffirms just how great an athlete Gonna is.”

List of Men’s UCI Hour Records:

08.10.2022: Filippo Ganna (ITA), Tissot Velodrome, Grenchen (SUI), 56.792 km

19.08.2022: Dan Bigham (GBR), Tissot Velodrome, Grenchen (SUI), 55.548 km

16.04.2019: Victor Campenaerts (BEL), Velodromo Bicentenario, Aguascalientes (MEX), 55.089 km 

07.06.2015: Bradley Wiggins (GBR), Lee Valley VeloPark, London (GBR), 54.526 km

02.05.2015: Alex Dowsett (GBR), National Cycling Centre, Manchester (GBR), 52.937 km

08.02.2015: Rohan Dennis (AUS), Velodrome Suisse, Grenchen (SUI), 52.491 km

30.10.2014: Matthias Brändle (AUT), UCI World Cycling Centre, Aigle (SUI), 51.852 km

18.09.2014: Jens Voigt (GER), Velodrome Suisse, Grenchen (SUI), 51.110 km.

The women’s UCI Hour Record is currently held by Ellen van Dijk, who covered a distance of 49.254 km at the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen on May 23, 2022.