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Canadian national cycling team member Ed Veal to attempt hour record

Canadian nation team rider Ed Veal is planning to set a new one-hour record. On April 10, he plans to ride for the best performance in the masters men’s age 35-39 category and for a new Canadian record. He will ride on the boards of the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ont.

“It’s scary to a lot of people, scary to myself,” he says. “You’ve got to be a little bit crazy. It is going to be very painful.”

The current Canadian hour record is 45.95 km set by Mike Nash in October 2011. Australian Jayson Austin has the best hour performance for masters men 35-39 in age. He rode to 48.315 km at the Dunc Gray Velodrome in Sydney in 2009.

One of the more recent and notable attempts on the hour record was by Jens Voigt who hit 51.110 km in September. The German’s ride was the start of the recent renewed interest in the event, which followed UCI changes to the format, allowing riders to use contemporary equipment. The current record holder of the longest distance to be covered in one hour is Rohan Dennis, 52.491 km set in Grenchen, Switzerland on Feb. 8, 2015.

“It’s all about pacing. I’m going to be following a pace and schedule I think I can follow,” says the 38-year-old Veal. “It will be a testament to my will. I hope people will come out, support my effort and feel my will as I push through to the end.”

“I want to be all in. I can get myself into good form, but at 38 years of age, injury or illness can change things in a flash,” he says. “The support will not only propel this important attempt, but it also fuels my goal of competing in the upcoming Pan Am Games this summer, and ultimately, at the 2016 Rio Olympics.”

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