Britain's Dan Bigham breaks Hour record in Switzerland

Dan Bigham represented England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Britain's Dan Bigham smashed the Hour record with a distance of 55.548km around the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland on Friday.

Bigham, an aerodynamics specialist and race engineer for British cycling team Ineos Grenadiers, beat the previous record of 55.089km set by Belgium's Victor Campenaerts in 2019.

The Hour record is the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle.

It is considered one of the most prestigious records in cycling.

Five riders had failed in their attempt to beat the record, including Britain's six-time British time trial champion Alex Dowsett in November 2021.

Bigham collapsed to the track after his record-breaking ride before being congratulated by his family, who were watching inside the velodrome.

"I was trying to ride 16-second laps for the second half and that's a bit daunting as I've not done 16-second laps for half an hour before," Bigham said.

"It's a bit mind-blowing. The support I've had around me [from Ineos] was second to none and that made it a whole lot easier. Everything you would expect from the team.

"I knew I was on pace but you still have to complete the distance. I knew if I could get to 20 minutes to go and then push on a little bit."