Cycling: Boardman's eyes on Manchester: Olympic champion looks to new National Centre for world hour record

(First Edition)

CHRIS BOARDMAN is planning to recapture his world hour record, broken by Miguel Indurain a fortnight ago, and may go to Manchester's new velodrome for the attempt.

The reigning Olympic pursuit champion helped open Britain's first National Cycling Centre yesterday, describing the pounds 9m track 'as good as anywhere else in the world.' He chose the occasion to announce his intention to go for the hour record next year, in between the Tour de France in July and the World Championships in October.

Boardman first broke the record in July last year when he broke the six-day old mark of Graeme Obree - set on the same fast Bordeaux track - with a distance of 52.270km. Obree reclaimed the record last April, only for Indurain to cover 53.040km of the French track.

'I'm certainly looking to prepare for next year's World Championships by going for the hour record,' Boardman said. 'If I do I might as well go for it 45 minutes away from where I live, rather than travel to Bordeaux or anywhere else.

'It gets to the stage where a track is a track is a track, but Manchester's is as good as anything I have ever seen. And you don't have to worry about the heat or the humidity.

'I just hope the track is used properly because the building itself is not going to bring people into the sport.'