Dubai: Alex Dowsett has a positive outlook about his entry into a brand-new team such as Katusha Alpecin for the 2018 season. In August 2017, the 29-year-old agreed terms to join the Swiss-registered team after spending five years in the Movistar colours, where his major successes were a time trial win at Saltara on the 2013 Giro d’Italia while also breaking the UCI World Hour Record in May 2015.
As a time trial specialist, it is believed that Dowsett’s role at Katusha Alpecin will be that he will act as an integral part of Marcel Kittel’s lead-out train. “I’m feeling settled in with the team, and that’s one big thing out of the way. I haven’t been part of a lead-out train since 2011,” Dowsett mused.
“I really enjoyed it [lead-out train] and I was quite good at it. I am quite excited that I will be able to get involved in a proper lead-out train with Katusha Alpecin,” he added.
Dowsett set a mark of 52.937km in Manchester in May 2015, only to see it broken a month later by fellow British rider Bradley Wiggins with a new distance of 54.526km. Since then Dowsett has been toying with the idea of reclaiming his record.
“I’d certainly love to better it [World Hour Record]. But that’s not a priority right now. If all the numbers stack up then I can go further and chase that. I would need three or four months to prepare for it. One can’t just go and do it as it is such a unique event,” Dowsett related.
“I think first things first. I’ve got to get set into racing and try and do my best for my new team,” he added.
