Filippo Ganna smashes Hour Record, says he can 'go higher again' with fresher legs at different stage of season

Ineos Grenadiers rider Filippo Ganna has smashed the world hour record at the Tissot Velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland and said afterwards that he can improve the mark again. At the halfway mark, Ganna's pace was ahead of the target by a small margin — and with 15 minutes remaining, the Italian had extended the gap. Ad When the bell rang to signal the end of the race, Ganna had set a new record mark of 56.792 km, an increase of more than 1.24 km over the previous record held by Daniel Bingham.

CyclingGanna smashes Hour Record2 HOURS AGO Physically shattered after breaking the record, Ganna was clearly delighted. He said: «I think this result is amazing. Today to arrive at this amazing goal is fantastic for me, and for all the staff who have worked for a long time to arrive at this result.» Not only did Ganna break the previous official record, he also beat Chris Boardman's so-called «best human effort», a record set in 1996 under now banned conditions.

When asked about the Boardman record, Ganna smiled. He said: «This morning I thought to break the record by one metre. But in the end I said I wanted to do more.

I think this result is amazing, [to beat Boardman’s] 56.375 is not bad.» Ganna was exhausted and bathed in sweat. He was still collecting his breath when speaking afterwards. He admitted: «I've put so much work into it.» The Italian even hinted at another attempt to even further extend his all-time record.

He said: «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 thinking about recovery and trying to celebrate together with everyone here.” Before his attempt, Ganna was optimistic, but unwilling to sugar coat what lay ahead.