Alex Edward Albert Dowsett (born 3 October 1988) is a British former professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeamIsrael–Premier Tech.[6] He was a time trial specialist, and in 2015, he broke track cycling's world hour record by 446 metres (1,463 feet), with a distance of 52.937 kilometres (32.894 miles).
Dowsett began his career at the Maldon and District Cycling Club in the City of Chelmsford.[10] His talent was soon recognised and Dowsett became part of the British Olympic Academy development team. He won the under-23 version of the British Time Trial Championships in 2008 and 2009. In 2010, he rode for American Trek–Livestrong team and won the under-23 European time trial championship.[11] He also won a silver medal in the Time Trial at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
In March 2012, Dowsett broke his elbow in the Three Days of De Panne and as a result missed the classics season. Dowsett recovered to finish second in the National Road Race Championships, and later retained his National Time Trial Championships title. Later in September, Dowsett competed at the UCI World Road Race Championships in all three men's elite events, with a best placing of eighth in the individual time trial.
Movistar Team (2013–17)
On 30 October 2012, Dowsett signed with the Spanish Movistar Team for the 2013 season hoping to gain a ride at a Grand Tour.[12] After competing in the Classics season for Movistar Team, Dowsett was selected to ride the Giro d'Italia, his first Grand Tour appearance. Dowsett helped Movistar Team take second place in the team time trial on stage two. On stage eight, a 54.8 km (34.1 mi) individual time trial, Dowsett set the fastest time to record his biggest career victory to date, setting a time ten seconds faster than the second placed Bradley Wiggins.[13] In June, Dowsett won the British National Time Trial Championships for the third year in a row despite crashing early on in the course.[14]
In May 2014 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.[15] Competing for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Dowsett won gold in the Individual Time Trial.[16] After a long breakaway, Dowsett took the lead of the Tour of Britain on the sixth stage[17] but lost it before the end of the race to Dylan van Baarle and finished eighth overall.[18] His team announced that Dowsett had signed a three-year contract extension with them in September.[19]
In December 2014, Dowsett announced he would attempt to break the UCI Hour Record at the Lee Valley VeloPark on 27 February 2015.[20] However, he was forced to postpone the attempt after breaking his collarbone in a training accident.[21] The attempt instead took place at the Manchester Velodrome on 2 May 2015[22] where Dowsett set a new world record of 52.937 kilometres (32.894 miles), beating Rohan Dennis' previous record by almost half a kilometre.[23] Two weeks later, 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. In June 2015 Dowsett clinched his fourth national time trial title.[24] He was selected for the 2015 Tour de France but was forced abandon the race half way round due to an injury.[25][26]
Team Katusha–Alpecin (2018–19)
In August 2017, it was announced that Dowsett would join Team Katusha–Alpecin for the 2018 season.[3][9] Following the last minute break up of the team in 2019,[27] he initially thought he would rest from professional cycling in 2020 and return to his local Maldon club, to focus on the Olympics and regaining the hour record.
Israel Start-Up Nation (2020–22)
Instead of his initial sabbatical from professional cycling, Dowsett was part of the Team Katusha–Alpecin merger with Israel Cycling Academy, which became the new team Israel Start-Up Nation for 2020.[28] He placed fourth in the time trial at the European Road Championships,[29] and ninth in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships.[30] Following this, Dowsett contested the Giro d'Italia and won the eighth stage from a six-rider breakaway, soloing to victory from 18 kilometres (11 miles) remaining.[31] In November, he extended his contract with Israel Start-Up Nation for a further two years.[32]Michael Hutchinson coaches Dowsett. In 2021, Dowsett attempted the UCI Hour Record, and completed a distance of 54.555 kilometres (33.899 miles), at the time the third furthest in the modern history of the Hour Record.[33]
In August 2022, Dowsett announced that he would be retiring from professional cycling at the end of the season.[34]
Personal life
Dowsett has haemophilia and wears a necklace, detailing his medical needs, when out riding.[35][36] Speaking on ITV's Cycle Show in July 2013, Dowsett cited this medical condition as being a key factor in his choosing competitive cycling in his youth, above other sports, because contact games such as football and rugby were considered too risky. His mother inserted knee and shoulder pads into his school uniform and he wore special trainers.[9]
He is believed to be the only able-bodied elite sportsman or woman with the condition.[8] As a result, he has a special exemption from the Union Cycliste Internationale's no needles policy, introduced in 2011,[37] to inject himself with the clotting protein Factor VIII every 48 hours.[8]
Dowsett started the charitable foundation Little Bleeders to raise awareness of haemophilia and to encourage and support young haemophiliacs to engage with sport. He also has his own YouTube channel, where he documents his life as a professional cyclist.
^ abcRobinson, J. (2020, February). Alex Dowsett Profile. There Will be Blood: Alex Dowsett is a former Hour record holder, Grand Tour stage winner and seven-time British time-trial champion. He's also a haemophiliac-something that makes his place in the professional peloton unique. Cyclist:The Thrill of the Ride, (96), 66–71.
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