(February 8, 2016) – 2012 Olympian and five-time UCI Road World Championships medalist Evelyn Stevens (San Francisco, Calif./Boels-Dolmans) will attempt to break the Women’s UCI Hour Record on February 27 at 12 p.m. MST / 8 p.m. CET in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The current record of 46.882 km was set by Bridie O’Donnell (AUS) on January 22, 2016, in Adelaide, Australia.

“While attempting to break the UCI Hour Record is exciting for me and my career, I’m also proud to help shine a light on women’s cycling,” Stevens said. “This will be a special day, and it’s an honor to make my record attempt under the new dome at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center Velodrome.”

The UCI Hour Record measures an athlete’s distance traveled on a velodrome track in 60 minutes. Stevens, a road cyclist, will be the first American to attempt the record since Molly Shaffer Van Houweling set the record of 46.273 km on Sept. 12, 2015, in Aguascalientes, Mexico.

In May 2014, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) modernised and simplified the rules regarding the UCI Hour Record. The record can now be tackled using any bicycle that conforms to the rules defining the characteristics of the bicycles used in endurance track events. Following the rule change, eight men have challenged the record, with Bradley Wiggins (GBR) setting the current bar of 54.526 km. In addition to Bridie O’Donnell and Molly Shaffer Van Houweling, Sarah Storey (GBR) also made a bid for the women’s record.

Riding for Boels-Dolmans, Stevens has access to the best time trial equipment, wind tunnel testing and aerodynamics information through her team’s partnerships with Bioracer, Specialized and Zipp. Stevens will race a Shiv modified for the track with a Zipp 900 front wheel and a Super 9 rear disc. She’ll sport the same style of Bioracer skinsuit in which she won the Amgen Tour of California’s women’s invitational time trial last year.

“All of Boels-Dolmans riders, staff and partners wish Evie all the best or the record,” said Boels-Dolmans Team Manager Danny Stam. “She has the capabilities to smash the old record. I’m very impressed with the way I’ve seen her prepare her body and her mind. With her character, it’s impossible to fail.”

UCI President Brian Cookson welcomed the news of the latest attempt: “The current Women’s UCI Hour Record will be only five weeks old when Evelyn Stevens tries to establish a new mark. Bridie O’Donnell set a tough mark last month, and I am looking forward tremendously to following this next challenge. It is clear that the excitement surrounding the iconic UCI Hour Record will be just as high in 2016 as it was last year when we saw six attempts on the men’s record and two on the women’s record.”

Stevens will attempt to break the record at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center Velodrome under the newly constructed winter dome. A 333.3-meter banked cement track, the Olympic Training Center Velodrome sits at just over 6,000 feet above sea level.

“We are thrilled that Evie is attempting to break this very prestigious record here in the United States in front of an international audience,” said USA Cycling CEO Derek Bouchard-Hall. “Having one of our top American athletes chase history under our new Olympic Training Center Velodome will be very special. We are grateful to the U.S. Olympic Committee for making this event possible with the recent dome and in helping us host this event later this month.”

Fans can watch the UCI Hour Record attempt live across the globe via a free live stream. Details will be posted at usacycling.org and uci.ch and the Boels-Dolmans social media channels.

About Evelyn Stevens

In the brief span of three years, Evelyn (Evie) Stevens made the improbable leap from the analyst floor at a New York investment firm to the road course of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Her well-documented journey to the bike is the result of fierce competitiveness, sheer athleticism and a serendipitous discovery of natural talent. Having found her calling, Evie is now focused on winning a UCI Road World Championship and bringing home Olympic Gold from Rio in 2016.

Evie was raised in Acton, Mass., the youngest of five kids in the Stevens family. She excelled at a variety of sports while growing up before playing varsity tennis at Dartmouth College. While at college, Evie studied government with a minor in women’s and gender studies.

Upon graduating in 2005, Evie moved to Manhattan to begin work with Lehman Brothers in the investment banking program. She attended her first bike clinic in Central Park in the spring of 2008. With the financial industry in a state of panic, Evie calmly won her first professional race in Union Vale, N.Y. A year later, she said goodbye to New York and embarked upon a career as a professional cyclist.

Evie is an offseason resident of San Francisco, California, and she practices yoga and enjoys reading in her spare time. Currently, Evie shares her passion for lifelong health and wellness as an active representative of a select group of related community organizations. For more, visit evelynstevens.com.

About Boels-Dolmans: 

Boels Rental and Dolmans Landscaping Group joined forces in 2012 in support of a UCI women’s team, and over the last four years, the Dutch-registered squad has established itself amongst the best on the global cycling stage. Twenty-six victories in 2015, including three stages and the overall at the Ladies Tour of Qatar, Le Samyn, Strande Bianche, two stages at Euskal Emakumeen Bira, two stage wins at the Aviva Women’s Tour, a win and a six-day stint in the maglia rosa at the Giro Rosa, and three World Cup victories en route to a second World Cup series title have catapulted the Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team to the second spot in the UCI rankings at the start of the 2016 season. Lizzie Armitstead capped off the team’s most successful season to date with a win in the women’s road race at the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia.

The 12-rider squad for 2016 includes all riders from last season plus two new faces in Karol-Ann Canuel and Nikki Harris. The group represents eight countries and countless languages showcasing the truly international flavour of the sport.

The combination of experience and talent with the efforts of the riders and team management alongside the support and enthusiasm of the team’s partners has made Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team a household name in international women’s cycling. Under team manager Danny Stam’s knowledgeable and experienced guidance, the team will target the inaugural Women’s World Tour races and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Visit www.boelsdolmanscyclingteam.com for more information.

About the UCI

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The UCI’s mission is to develop and promote cycling as a competitive sport, as a healthy recreational activity or as a means of transport.

The UCI governs the eight disciplines of the sport of cycling: road, track, mountain bike, cyclo-cross, BMX, trials, indoor and para. Four of them are represented at the Olympic Games (road, track, mountain bike and BMX), two at the Paralympic Games (road, track) and three at the Youth Olympic Games (road, mountain bike and BMX). Additionally the UCI promotes a number of its own events, including the UCI Road World Championships, an iconic annual event, and a wide range of other UCI World Championships and World Cups across the various disciplines.