World time record holder Victor Kampenaerts reacted to Alex Dowsett's attempt to break his own record of 55.089 km, giving the British athlete a 50 percent chance of breaking the distance set in April 2019.

Dowsett, who held the record of 52.937 km in 2015, will attempt it in Manchester on December 12. Campenaerts, who set the current record at high altitude in Mexico, said Dowsett has a big challenge ahead of him, adding that he plans to try again if he loses the record next month.

"I am especially happy that my record is finally under attack. If he beats my record, it will hurt a little bit, but I honestly can't believe it. Alex is facing a tough challenge. If he doesn't, it will be sad for me," the Belgian told Het Nieuwsblad.

"We already talked about it in the Giro. I like Alex, but I am not allowed to give too many hints. He is a competitor who can take away my greatest achievement as a rider. If he takes away my record, I will plan another attack in the near future."

In Manchester, which is 1,850 meters lower than the Aguascalientes Velodrome where Campenaerts set his record, the Belgian said the effects of altitude - or rather lack of altitude - would have a major impact on Dowsett's run.

Dowsett had been excluded from high altitude tries in Mexico and South America due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. In Manchester, there are no adverse effects of high altitude, such as lack of oxygen, but there is also no benefit of low aerodynamic drag.

"Alex spends half the year at high altitude in Andorra, and he doesn't really like it," said the team. That doesn't mean that high altitude camps don't suit him. It just makes him less suited to performing at altitude, which is exactly what he has to do in his record attempt in Mexico."

"Barometric pressure determines the record. I'm no climatologist, but in Mexico the barometric pressure is almost constant every day. In Belgium and England it fluctuates daily; if we are unlucky on December 12, the challenge will be impossible.

The low elevation brings both advantages and disadvantages, but one factor in Dowsett's favor is the freedom to choose his own material, unique among professional riders. A recent wind tunnel photo released with the announcement used a factor bike, but according to Kampenaerts, that could change.

"When I last spoke with Alex at the Giro, he was still expecting to remain with Israel Startup Nation and the team is giving him complete freedom to use any material he wants. This is a huge advantage and especially important when choosing a bike.

"Brands like Dolan and Koga-Miyata carry specialist bikes, but he will probably use the BH.T, the British Federation track bike. I know Alex doesn't have all the equipment at the moment, but as soon as he has everything he will go to Manchester and train there."[19

Dowsett needs to improve his time by 2.153 km to regain the title. This would be the equivalent of 50 watts, Campenaerts suggested. He matched the Belgian's pace in the last 5 km, but would face the daunting task of doing the same for 10 times the distance.

"I know he was my pace for 30 minutes. To do that, I have to push 50 watts more than I did in the first attempt. That's a very big deal," Kampenaerts warned.

"I'm sure he can run better than 358 watts on average, but as a critical voice, he couldn't run faster than me when he accelerated in the last 5 km. Now he has to keep that pace for 55 minutes."