The 24-year-old winner of last month's Tour Down Under fell just short of his target of 52.5km but was comfortably superior to the existing mark of 51.852km set by Austria's Matthias Brändle at another Swiss track in Aigle on October 30 last year.

Brändle's effort displaced the record of 51.110km set by Germany's 43-year-old Jens Voigt on the Grenchen track in September in what was a farewell appearance.

"Hopefully this record will stay for a little while," said Dennis in the aftermath of an effort which saw him pass the old mark with around 30 seconds to go.

Among those who will seek to better it later this year are the British pair of Alex Dowsett, who has had to postpone his planned attempt on February 27 because of an injured collarbone, and the first Briton to win the Tour de France, Sir Bradley Wiggins, who has said he will make one attempt at the record at some point in July.

The latest spate of record attempts has stemmed from the decision last May by the International Cycling Union (UCI) to scrap the ruling it imposed in 2000 that insisted records had to be set on traditional racing bikes after a series of innovations in terms of technique and stance by athletes such as Britain's Chris Boardman and Graeme Obree had made cycling traditionalists increasingly uneasy.

Rohan Dennis crosses the line at the Grenchen velodrome to set a world hour record of 52.491km ©AFP/Getty Images


With the speed helmets, customised handlebars and disc wheels that characterise modern track pursuit riding now admissible, a new generation of riders is challenging for one of the blue riband records of sport once held by greats such as Fausto Coppi and Jacques Anquetil.

Last weekend in Melbourne, Dennis' Australian team mate Jack Bobridge finished shattered after an attempt on the record, which fell just 500 metres short of his target at the end of a ride that he said felt "a bit like dying."

He managed 51.3km.

Dennis also had to work to the limits in the final five minutes, moving away from the racing line and wavering up the banking as fatigue set in.

Around him in the packed arena, spectators wearing green and gold waved Australian flags and chanted his name.

Of those final stages, he commented with a wry smile: "There was a lot of pain.

"I couldn't really enjoy it too much, to be honest.

"I knew when I went past the record distance I had a chance to do another two and a half laps maximum so I was just trying to add as much as I could.

"I'm pretty tired now, but very, very proud."

Get the full story on the cycling hour record revolution in the Big Read here.

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January 2015: Bobridge falls agonisingly short in attempt to break cycling hour record
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