"Everyone has limits, but Ganna proved once again that his are very far" - Victor Campenaerts on Ganna's new hour record

Almost everyone in the cycling world is praising Filippo Ganna for his incredible achievement yesterday in Grenchen, Switzerland. Defying Daniel Bigham's previous record by a considerable margin, the Italian covered 56.792 kilometres in one hour. Victor Campenaerts, who also held the same record to his name in 2019, praised Ganna.

Although Campenaerts was critical of Ganna's performance, "I don't think he came to the start with optimal fitness," Campenaerts told Radio 1. He continues, "It's phenomenally fast, but I'm not falling backwards from this distance. I don't want to take any gloss off his performance, but I don't think he showed up at the start in Switzerland in optimal condition."

With a distance of 56.792, Ganna has already beaten the record for the longest distance on a bike in an hour, but Campenaerts believes there is a good chance Ganna can beat his own record if he is back to his former self. "If he regains his 2020 level of form, he will put in an even more punishing performance. Who can beat this distance? Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel are the cut men. But such preparation is almost impossible to fit into their busy calendar," said Campenaerts.

For now, however, it's a time for celebrations for the Italian rider, as well as a well-deserved rest. "Everyone has limits, but Ganna proved once again that his are very far. 56.792 kilometres, to be exact. If he had continued his acceleration until the end, he would have gone over the 57-kilometre limit as well,” concluded Campenaert.