Vittoria Bussi to attempt Hour Record after crowdfunding success

Vittoria Bussi will attempt to set a new UCI Hour Record on October 11 at the Velodromo Bicentenario in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

The UCI confirmed the former record holder’s attempt nine months after she started a crowdfunding project to raise €10,000, to help with the extensive costs that come with training and preparing for an Hour Record.

Bussi set the record in 2018 with a distance of 48.007 kilometres, after falling short in 2017 of the distance established by USA’s Evelyn Stevens a year earlier.

The Italian’s record was eventually broken by Britain’s Joscelin Lowden in 2021 at the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen, where Van Dijk would also set her record of 49.254 kilometres in 2022. 

“I am honoured to announce I will attempt to break the UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot in Aguascalientes, where I already broke it once just over five years ago,” said Bussi in a press release.

“I went through quite a few emotions when my record was first broken, but thanks to my project Road2record, I now feel ready to try to establish a new world mark. 

“Road2record is a mission and a method: to break the UCI Hour Record timed by Tissot and get a step closer to the 50km threshold.”

Bussi took time to thank all of those who donated to her effort on Gofundme, which at the time of writing totalled  €11,994.

“I am deeply grateful to all the people who contributed to make this attempt happen and to all the sponsors that have believed in me and supported me in these months of preparation.” 

With a PhD in Pure Mathematics from the University of Oxford, Bussi plans to use her expertise in the subject to aid her attempt at breaking the 50km mark, which Van Dijk’s record currently misses by just 746 metres. 

“As a mathematician, I contribute to aerodynamic and technological studies, aiming to break the 50km mark in the next attempt at the women's UCI Hour Record,” said Bussi on her original crowdfunding page.

This will be the 10th attempt to break the women’s Hour Record since the unified rule change in 2014, with Bussi so far the only rider to test herself with 60 minutes of maximum, guaranteed solo pain on more than one occasion.