British rider Alex Dowsett's hour record attempt is in doubt, after the Essex rider broke his collarbone on a training ride yesterday.

The Movistar Team rider was set to attack the record on February 27th at the Lee Valley VeloPark - formally used in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The British rider is expected to have surgery on Thursday, with a decision to be made by the team and Dowsett himself afterwards.

Dowsett was out training on the Essex roads with sprint king and Etixx-Quick Step rider Mark Cavendish, with both riders seeming in jovial mood when Cavendish tweeted a photo of them out on his official Twitter account.

However the training ride took a turn for the worse, it is unknown whether Cavendish was with Dowsett when he was injured.

A team statement announced today: “Alex Dowsett and Movistar Team's hopes to take on a successful UCI hour record attempt were seriously damaged yesterday as the Essex-based rider suffered a crash during a training ride on home roads.

“Details on whether Dowsett's attempt will go on as planned or be postponed will be specified in the next few days, subject to medical examination after his surgery and Dowsett's own consideration.”

If the attempt is cancelled it remains to be seen whether the Commonwealth Games Time Trial gold medalist will rearrange an attempt, with a number of big names set to push the record even further over the coming year.

Wiggins' record attempt

One of these riders is Bradley Wiggins who announced his intentions about an hour record attempt whilst launching his new team 'WIGGINS'. 

The current mark of 51.852km which was set by IAM Cycling's Matthias Brandle could be bettered in the coming weeks before Dowsett's proposed February 27th date. Australian duo Jack Bobridge and Rohan Dennis are set to launch attempts to push the record even further, before Time Trial specialists Wiggins and Tony Martin strive to push the record out of reach.