CHARLIE TANFIELD is under no illusions over the scale of the task he has taken on as he aims to break the revered UCI Hour Record on Thursday.

Tanfield, an Olympic silver medallist in the team pursuit, has spent years thinking about this moment — from watching Sir Bradley Wiggins break Alex Dowsett’s record in 2015 to dreaming up ideas with his then housemate and future record holder Dan Bigham a few years later.

Now Tanfield will get his own opportunity in Konya, Turkey, aiming to break the mark of 56.972 kilometres set by Filippo Ganna in 2022.

“I’ve watched every single attempt in the modern era,” Tanfield said. “I could tell you the way they rode them and the splits they were riding to. I have an interest in it and I feel as though it takes someone who is interested in the event to do it because it’s a beast.

“It’s such a hard event that unless you were passionate about it, I really don’t think you would be willing to put yourself through the suffering and the preparation you have to do to actually get to the start line.”

Bigham, Tanfield’s old team-mate on the old amateur Team KGF squad that shook up British pursuiting after the Rio Olympics, broke the record in 2022 before helping his then team-mate Ganna go even further just two months later.

Back in 2018, Bigham and Tanfield shared a house in Derby with their KGF team-mates, where they combined their studies with training. Both were fascinated by the Hour Record and the technical perfection needed to master it.

“Dan would have his spreadsheets,” Tanfield said. “We’d put in the numbers and almost fantasise about how fast you could go over the hour. It sounds so sad but it did light a spark in me that it could be a thing I could do in the future.”

Tanfield said he had “a bit of banter” with Bigham ahead of his own attempt but no specific help. Dowsett has also been in touch, while Wiggins commented with a “love this!” when Tanfield’s record attempt was announced on social media.

One hour in the saddle, alone, lap after lap around a velodrome — the challenge of the Hour Record is mental as much as physical.

There has been a huge progression in the event since Wiggins set it at 54.526km in London 10 years ago.

When Ganna added more than a kilometre to Bigham’s mark in 2022 there was a sense that the Italian had effectively “shelved” it with a performance so dominant it would be years before anyone could challenge him.

Tanfield is hoping to prove that assumption wrong.

“It’s been a very rough road getting to this point,” Tanfield said. “There’s been a lot of times where I’ve thought, ‘What the hell am I doing? This is absolutely outrageous.’ It’s so difficult.

“I cannot describe how hard the mark has been set. But as I’ve got closer and closer I’ve got a little more confident. It’s exciting just to see exactly how quick I can go.”