27 Facts About Alex Dowsett

1.

Alex Dowsett was a time trial specialist, and in 2015, he broke track cycling's world hour record by 446 metres, with a distance of 52.937 kilometres.

2.

Alex Dowsett initially took up swimming as a sport, swimming up to five days a week, before starting cycling on a mountain bike along with his father.

3.

Alex Dowsett began his career at the Maldon and District Cycling Club in the City of Chelmsford.

4.

Alex Dowsett's talent was recognised and Dowsett became part of the British Olympic Academy development team.

5.

Alex Dowsett won the under-23 version of the British Time Trial Championships in 2008 and 2009.

6.

Alex Dowsett won a silver medal in the Time Trial at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

7.

Alex Dowsett signed for British-based Team Sky as a neo-pro for the 2011 season.

8.

Alex Dowsett finished fifth overall in the Danmark Rundt, helping teammate Simon Gerrans to overall victory.

9.

Alex Dowsett won the fifth stage of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes to finish second overall.

10.

Alex Dowsett won the Stage 8a time trial of the Tour of Britain.

11.

In March 2012, Alex Dowsett suffered a broken elbow in the Three Days of De Panne and as a result missed the classics season.

12.

Alex Dowsett recovered to finish second in the National Road Race Championships, and later retained his National Time Trial Championships title.

13.

On 30 October 2012, Alex Dowsett signed with the Spanish Movistar Team for the 2013 season hoping to gain a ride at a Grand Tour.

14.

Alex Dowsett helped Movistar Team take second place in the team time trial on stage two.

15.

In May 2014 Alex Dowsett set a new British 10-mile time trial record in Cambridgeshire, clocking in at 17 minutes 20 seconds and beating Michael Hutchinson's previous record by 25 seconds.

16.

In December 2014, Alex Dowsett announced he would attempt to break the UCI Hour Record at the Lee Valley VeloPark on 27 February 2015.

17.

The attempt instead took place at the Manchester Velodrome on 2 May 2015 where Alex Dowsett set a new world record of 52.937 kilometres, beating Rohan Dennis' previous record by almost half a kilometre.

18.

Two weeks later, Alex Dowsett won his first ever stage race, the Bayern Rundfahrt, where he claimed the overall victory a day after winning the Stage 4 individual time-trial.

19.

In June 2015 Alex Dowsett clinched his fourth national time trial title.

20.

Alex Dowsett was named in the start list for the 2015 Tour de France.

21.

Alex Dowsett placed fourth in the time trial at the European Road Championships, and ninth in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships.

22.

In 2021, Alex Dowsett attempted the UCI Hour Record, and completed a distance of 54.555 kilometres, the third furthest in the modern history of the Hour Record.

23.

Alex Dowsett suffers from haemophilia and wears a necklace, detailing his medical needs, when out riding.

24.

Alex Dowsett's mother inserted knee and shoulder pads into his school uniform and he wore special trainers.

25.

Alex Dowsett is believed to be the only able-bodied elite sportsman or woman with the condition.

26.

Alex Dowsett started the charitable foundation Little Bleeders to raise awareness of haemophilia and to encourage and support young haemophiliacs to engage with sport.

27.

Alex Dowsett has his own YouTube channel, where he documents his life as a professional cyclist.