#PerfectHour press conference held in Manchester

UCI Hour Record attempt

Alex Dowsett, Movistar Team determined to take on successful UCI Hour Record attempt at National Cycling Centre on Saturday

The Macdonald Manchester Hotel & Spa held on Thursday the official press conference of Alex Dowsett and Movistar Team's #PerfectHour, the UCI Hour Record attempt scheduled for May 2nd at the National Cycling Centre (1pm, tickets here). Dowsett, whose efforts in supporting those affected by a rare disease like haemophilia have led him to this, considers to be "in a better place than I was when I crashed" back in January, forced to postponed his earlier-scheduled attempt for February.

"I would say it's been a lot tougher after I broke my collarbone, since I haven't got that same momentum, but otherwise, I'm feeling good," explains Dowsett. "The last two weeks before the event, it's like you can't get any fitter but you can ruin all if you do too much or too little – you must find the balance. Everything's gone well up to date, though.

"The hour record is the ultimate time trial. It's a case of man and machine: no changing conditions, no wind, no real tactics – it's the purest form of a time trial. As a youngster, I came into competitive cycling as a timetriallist. When Obree and Boardman battled for the Hour, I came more fascinated about the technology – It's really something to be on a position where I can get myself behind that technology, try and take this on the same place where Boardman took it."

Dowsett's training efforts on the track have been "mainly half-hour, 35-minute sessions, short stuff at hour record pace; then, on the road, not too dissimilar to other preparations for a real road season: 5-6 hours, that side is quite normal. Also, if you train for a TT or stage races, there's tactics involved, it can't go 100% right on the day – in contrary, on the hour record, it's everything you do that translates into something on the road. That's why I'm being so committed to everything I've been doing, where usually I've been a bit lazy. I've never trained like this before.

"There's no tiny respite in the hour record. The pacing is so important – you never get a chance to recover. We saw with Jack's (Bobridge) attempt that if you start too hard, you suffer the consequences later on. Riding on a fine line the first 30 minutes is crucial."

In turn, Eusebio Unzué reflected on his memories about previous hour record attempts and his expectations: "I always remember that day, the one you take on the hour, as something really special in my whole managing career. I remember the pictures, everything that happened with Miguel in Bordeaux. It's different to everything. Thanks to a good decision from the UCI, adding value to the hour record, we had another chance to repeat that experience with Alex.

"The incident in January has made this attempt more attractive. We've had way more time to get used and keep working in all senses. It's become more attractive and important than it was for us three months ago, and we hope that all the hard work our team and partners have put in will bring us to a success on Saturday."