In just a few days, Rohan Dennis of BMC will hope to utilise his good form from the Tour Down Under to try and break Mathias Brandle’s Hour Record of 51.852km.

Jack Bobridge fell 500m short last week and Dennis says he didn’t watch the event, but kept an eye on his lap times compared to Brandle’s.

“I didn’t watch Bobridge’s ride live, but I did watch his splits,” Dennis tells Cycling Central. “I was on the plane, flying from Dubai to Barcelona, and I had Wifi, I followed it that way.”

“It’s almost a little bit of a relief - not that I was hoping that Jack wouldn’t break the record - but it does take some of the pressure off myself.”

Dennis says he hadn’t even considered an attempt until he saw Jens Voigt break the record, and only then he realized that the rules had changed regarding equipment and a new record was possible.

“I think the changes.. it’s created a lot more attention around it and it’s a lot easier for a modern rider to attempt it. We don’t have to change anything with our position, or our equipment. It’s basically the same as our time trial setup.”

Dennis has set a numerical distance that he would like to achieve, and it is almost 1km further than the current record. He himself wants to go even further, and wants to get to 53km.

“We’re aiming for 52.5km. Personally I’m going to try and aim for something higher, my own personal goal would be 53. If I do not get 53, but I get 52.5, I’ll still be happy. If everything goes perfectly then no matter what the mark I’ll be happy. The key is to break the record. I don’t want to walk out of that velodrome without the record. If I beat it by one metre and finish on my hands and knees that’s also okay with me. If everything goes perfectly, 52.5km or more.”

He says that should he fail to break the record, there will be no retry within a week, it will just be one attempt and that it, regardless of the outcome.

“To be completely blunt, I’ve set Sunday as the day. Our aim is to do the record. If I don’t get it, I don’t get it and maybe I’ll come back in a couple of years. Or when it suits my race program for the road again. It’s a big financial investment from BMC, a big commitment. To do it twice in a week would be a big ask of BMC, and I don’t expect that.”

He says should he achieve the record, he isn’t too bothered about losing it to someone like Bradley Wiggins, he just wants to set a record and have his name written down in history.

“It all depends on what other guys do in the future, but the big name we have to look forward to seeing is (Bradley) Wiggins. If he, or someone else doesn’t beat the mark I set, then I might not try it again until they do. If I get it, that’s great. If I lose it, well it won’t worry me. I don’t want to try and break it again until much later in my career. I really only want to do it twice. But the next time I do it, if I do it, I want to be at my absolute physical peak.”