Bradley Wiggins hour record attempt showing in any pubs?

[gus]

it's on sky sports at 6pm, just wondered if any pubs are airing it?

[Damo]

Not sure about a pub but you can watch it live on Pick, which I think is a free to air channel.

Failing that, its being streamed free on Youtube.

More details here;

http://road.cc/content/news/153662-where-watch-sir-bradley-wiggins-take-cyclings-uci-hour-record-sunday

[Loz]

It's a fantastic sporting achievement, but who would want to watch some bloke ride around and around and around and around for an hour. It's a bit like Formula One, but more boring! Whoever thought that was possible?

And who the hell actually paid good money for tickets?

[Help-Ma-Boab]

I watched it on Pick thanks to Damo. Surprisingly good watch,Wiggo broke it into 12 minute chunks. Atmosphere looked amazing in the velodrome.

[Loz]

But why? What what was so watchable about a bloke riding around a track on a bike. For an hour.

I know there is the Wiggo effect, where people would rock up to watch him pick his nose. I suppose a better question to ask is: would you watch Fred Nobody try the same record attempt?

[goosey-goosey]

Because it's an amazing human feat that especially those among us who cycle (at half the speed) can appreciate. Technically too, it's fascinating if you're interested in the training, the psychology, the stamina, the aerodynamics. And then there is the Wiggo effect, as you say. I doubt everyone watched every single second of it, but I'm sure many people found it exciting and inspirational.

[robbin]

Because it was a WORLD RECORD attempt (involving one of the most extreme physical challenges that exists). You would hardly get 'some bloke'/'Fred Nobody' performing such a feat!

[Loz]

robbin, did you watch Alex Dowsett set the previous record earlier in the year?

[robbin]

What, you mean the famous Alex Dowsett who beat Bradley Wiggins in the 2013 Giro D'Italia time trial in 2013, and who last year set a new British 10 mile time trial record (again beating Wiggo), later in the year winning the British National Time Trial Championship for the third time in a row, then taking the gold medal for Team GB in the Commonwealth Games individual time trial?

That Alex Dowsett? Are you suggesting he is just 'some bloke on a bike' or 'Fred Nobody'? If so, I stand impressed by what you must have achieved in life to make him look so anonymous in your mind.

Fair enough that cycling might not be your 'thang', but that doesn't mean the hour world record attempt was a load of boring guff. For some it was quite the opposite. It is actually an incredible physical challenge beyond almost any other sporting event you are likely to see.

No, I didn't watch Alex Dowsett - he set his record (1.5 km less than Wiggins did last night) in Manchester.

Btw - and this is a serious suggestion - I'm not being funny - there's a superb film about Graeme Obree and the one hour cycling record, called 'The Flying Scotsman'. Even if you are not a fan of cycling, or this particular event, it is well worth watching.

[robbin]

Tickets to watch Dowsett's world record attempt at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester were also sold out.

[robbin]

That said, if you are not at all into cycling or sports endurance feats generally, I can see that watching a bloke riding round in circles might not be the most riveting way of spending an hour of your life.

[Loz]

robbin Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> That Alex Dowsett? Are you suggesting he is just 'some bloke on a bike' or 'Fred Nobody'? If so, I

> stand impressed by what you must have achieved in life to make him look so anonymous in your mind.

I'm sure he's achieved a lot, but he's pretty unknown outside cycling circles (or even cycling in circles). If they asked for 'Famous British Cyclists' on Pointless, he'd be pretty damn close to, if not actually, a pointless answer. There are a lot of high achieving people in sport that are pretty anonymous. Likewise, there are a lot of footballers with a much higher profile than their talents deserve.

> That said, if you are not at all into cycling or sports endurance feats generally, I can see that watching

> a bloke riding round in circles might not be the most riveting way of spending an hour of your life.

Probably the best summary. Mind you, lots of people go to watch F1 live and I've never really understood that, either. I suppose at least with cycling you can see them all the time, not just fly past every 2 minutes.

[robbin]

You can also participate in cycling, while F1 is comparatively inaccessible.

I accept that if you don't follow cycling he may not be well known. But, you would be hard-pressed to find a cycling fan who doesn't know about Alex Dowsett. Aside from being a CW games gold medal winner and British Champion time trialist etc, he was a member of Team Sky, now he's on the Movistar pro team. He's the only elite athlete to have haemophilia (God knows how he can/has the nerve to perform as a pro cyclist at all!).