Could Filippo Ganna Take On Cycling Equivalent of INEOS Kipchoge Challenge?

From Bicycling

• On November 3, pro cyclist Mark Cavendish tweeted that Filippo Ganna should attempt an INEOS 3:59 challenge, where he would try to break four minutes in the 4K individual pursuit.

• It could be the cycling equivalent of running’s INEOS 1:59 challenge, in which Eliud Kipchoge broke the two-hour mark in the marathon distance back in October.

• Filippo Ganna, 23, broke the world record for the men’s 4K individual pursuit twice at the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Minsk, Belarus, on November 3.

Several weeks after the world witnessed Eliud Kipchoge break the long-elusive two-hour mark for the marathon distance, pro cyclist Mark Cavendish raised a good point in a tweet on November 3: INEOS gave the running world its moment of glory—now what about cycling?

In his tweet, he introduced the idea of having Italian cyclist Filippo Ganna attempt to break four minutes for the 4K individual pursuit while at an event similar to the Kipchoge challenge.

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The question comes after Team INEOS rider Filippo Ganna, 23, set a new record—twice—for the men’s individual pursuit at the Tissot UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Minsk, Belarus. Ganna’s time of 4:04.252 broke the previous record of 4:06.407 set by Ashton Lambie this past September.

Ganna then went on to break his own record during the final with an even better time of 4:02.647.

Cavendish’s comment points to the fact that, just like the sport of running, cycling also has its own highly sought after time barriers.

As Cavendish went on to explain in his tweet, a sub-4:00 performance in the men’s 4K individual pursuit once seemed just as unimaginable as a 4-minute mile or a marathon under two hours.

“Now, it seems we have someone to do it,” Cavendish’s tweet continued.

After Ganna’s record-breaking performance, a sub-4:00 mark for the men’s 4K individual pursuit is likely on his radar, especially since Minsk sits around 720 feet above sea level. Attempting to break the four-minute barrier at a venue much closer to sea level could be just what Ganna needs to do it.

Ganna has also expressed to La Gazzetta dello Sport his interest in going after the hour record at some point, though he’d like to test his legs first with a big WorldTour event like the Giro d’Italia.

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