Manchester, United Kingdom - British cyclist Alex Dowsett will fulfil a childhood goal when he attempts to break the world hour record in Manchester on Saturday, while aiming to provide inspiration to haemophilia sufferers around the world.
The 26-year-old Englishman will aim to beat the mark of 52.491 kilometres set by Australia's Rohan Dennis in February.
A former Giro d'Italia stage winner, Dowsett rides for the Spanish-based Movistar team and his rise to the top of professional cycling is all the more remarkable given that he has the rare blood disorder haemophilia, which impairs the body's ability to clot blood when cut.
"What we're trying to do for both the haemophilia community and the rare disease community, and anyone who has had adversity to overcome, is be a source of motivation and inspiration," said Dowsett.
"We try to show that you can't let haemophilia dictate your life even if it shapes your life. When I was a kid I was told I couldn't play contact sports so I did a lot of swimming which meant that when I tried cycling, I was pretty quick straight away.
"Without haemophilia, I probably wouldn't be sat here talking about the world hour record, I would be banging my head against a wall trying to make it in football or rugby.
"So come Saturday, whatever the result, I won't have lost. I will hopefully have shown a generation of rare disease sufferers that they shouldn't settle, that they should go out there and give it a go."
Dowsett first dreamt of setting the hour record, dominated by the British duo of Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman in the 1990s, when he started competitive cycling over a decade ago.
AFP
