Tour de Feminin Star Holds the World Hour Record
At high altitude on the velodrome in Aguascalientes, Mexico — where she became the first woman to break the 50-kilometer barrier in October 2023 — she has now pushed the record even further to 50.455 km.
“It’s more than just a sporting achievement,” Bussi wrote on Instagram. “This record has always been something extraordinary for me, both as an athlete and as a person. The hour record taught me that one of the most important things in life is to understand the preciousness of time in every moment,” added Bussi, who holds a PhD in mathematics from Oxford and returned to the track from sporting retirement.
She had attempted the record already on Friday, but gave up about halfway through the effort.
The 38-year-old cyclist now holds the world hour record for the third time. In 2018, she set a mark of 48.007 km. That record was broken in 2021 by Britain’s Joscelin Lowden, just a few months after Bussi’s victory at the stage race in the area around Krásná Lípa.
At the Tour de Feminin in 2023 — her only appearance to date — Vittoria Bussi rode three stages but withdrew before the final stage.
Before Bussi reclaimed it in 2023, the world hour record was held by Dutch rider Ellen van Dijk with a distance of 49.254 km.