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 A few weeks after fellow Briton Alex Dowsett set a new world record
of 52.937 kilometers in Manchester, Olympic time trial champion
Wiggins says it is not a matter of "if" he can better that distance,
but by how much.
"It sounds a bit horrible to say, but I think I could break the
record tomorrow," the 35-year-old Wiggins, who recently left Team
Sky to return to the track, said in an interview in The Times on
Wednesday.
"But I don't just want to break it, I want to put it right up there,
as far out of reach as I can."
The seven-times Olympic medalist who left his track roots to become
the first Briton to win the Tour de France in 2012, believes he can
add two kilometers to Dowsett's mark.
"I've got 55km in my head and I believe that's realistic," he said.
"And I think if I do that it will stand for 20 years."
Wiggins is not downplaying the iconic challenge which has seen four
riders break the record in the last eight months, but believes
riding around 220 laps of the velodrome at virtually full bore is no
worse than anything he faced on the road.
"I don't see it as being any harder than climbing the Ventoux to
save fourth place in the Tour de France," he said.
"I can't see it being any harder than keeping concentration for
three weeks to win the Tour, or riding around Hampton Court with the
weight of expectation to win Olympic gold.
"I've been in a lot of pressure situations, I know what I can do."
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"The challenge is dealing with the heat, the crowd, pacing yourself
early when the crowd is egging you on," he added.
Once he has completed his Hour attempt, his focus will return to Rio
2016 where Wiggins is eyeing a fifth Olympic gold medal and a
British record-extending eighth in all.
"Whatever happens, that'll be it after Rio," he said.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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