Ganna and the Hour record: Grenchen track chosen

From our correspondent Ciro Scognamiglio

May 21
– WEDGE

It will be in three months. Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 August are the days indicated for Filippo Ganna’s attempt at the Hour record. And it will be at the Grenchen velodrome, in Switzerland, the same one that the Dutch Van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo) will use on Monday to attack the women’s limit. He has not yet been officially talked about, and a not insignificant footnote must be added: he will be evaluated as Filippo will leave the Tour in which he will make his debut to hunt for the first yellow jersey in the Copenhagen time trial. But if the condition is the one hoped for, the die is now cast. Just yesterday the Giro landed in the Ganna region, and today the finish line is in Turin where he wore the first pink jersey last year after the time trial won. The 25-year-old from Ineos-Grenadiers raced for the last time at Easter: 35th in an unlucky Paris-Roubaix but won by his teammate Van Baarle. Now he is about to complete his retreat at Teide, in Tenerife (Canary Islands): from there he cheers on his teammate Richard Carapaz. While in terms of competitive commitments he will return to the Criterium del Dauphiné (5-12 June) and then planned to participate in the Tricolore time trial on 22 June in Friuli-Venezia Giulia: the Tour starts on 1 July. As usual on the preparation front, he is followed by Dario David Cioni for Ineos, who works closely with the track manager Marco Villa.

Choice

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The scenario of the Hour record has therefore not changed in the last two months and the choice fell on Grenchen (in October 2021 venue of the European Track Championships), judged among those available at sea level (451 meters) the fastest, or in any case the one that offers the best conditions: Ganna has always said that she does not want “asterisks”, that she does not intend to enjoy the benefits of the high ground, as for example Victor Campenaerts did. The Belgian, current record holder, in mid-April 2019 reached 55,089 km at 1,889 meters in Aguascalientes, Mexico. As for the date, it can be anticipated that it will not be in a weekend because the venue is occupied in that period by another event: hence the indication of 23-24 August.