Filippo Ganna will leave Australia on Thursday morning to turn his attention from the World Championships to the UCI Hour Record challenge in Grenchen on October 8.

The Italian finished seventh in Sunday's individual time trial, conceding the rainbow jersey, but was a key player in the Italian team that won the silver medal in Wednesday's mixed team time trial. Ganna, Matteo Sobrero, Edoardo Affini, Vittoria Guazzini, Elisa Longo Borghini, and Elena Cecchini missed out on gold by just three seconds to Switzerland.

At a press conference after the mixed relay, Ganna dismissed the notion that her performance in the individual time trial was marred by her hour record preparation.

"I think it was just one shitty day for me. I think it was just one shitty day for me," Ganna said, admitting that his preparation for the Hour Record on the track was not at all comparable to his training for the road time trial. The Italian will compete in the Track World Championships in Paris (October 12-16) the week after the Hour Record attempt.

"I think it's a little different. The pace is a little more constant in the hour run, whereas here it's more of a concentrated effort. I'm flying home tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. I'm going to work on my recovery so I can be at my best for October 8."

Ganna and his Ineos team's decision to tackle the hour record on the same day as Il Lombardia drew criticism in his home country, with RCS Sport urging the former time trial world champion to find new dates. On Wednesday, La Gazzetta dello Sport (opens in new tab) published an interview with former Hour Record holder Francesco Moser, with the headline "Ganna, listen to Moser".

"Ganna could wait. 'Once the track world championships are over, there will definitely be more attention. There would be no more races and he would have had all the attention in the world. It would have been an event."

"It would have been an event.

The decision to go ahead with the Hour Record attempt on the night of Il Lombardia was defended by Dario Cioni of Ineos Directeur Sportif, who said that October 8 was the only possible date for the record attempt in Grenchen. Ganna was originally scheduled to attempt the hour record in August after his Tour de France debut, but was postponed due to the extent of his fatigue.

"That date, October 8, is the only choice," Cioni told La Gazzetta. 'October 8 was the only choice. But I can't go because the velodrome in Grenchen is booked up and then there is the track world championships in Paris."

Cioni told La Gazzetta.

Cioni dismissed the idea of attempting the record after the track world championships." It is too late. Doing it at the end of the season is already a risk," he said of the uproar that the October 8 date has caused, "Instead of being an additional event to a great day of cycling in Italy, this seems to be a problem. The only option is not to do it."

He added, "I think it's a good idea.

Cioni added that the impending change in the rules regarding equipment meant that Ineos and Ganna were reluctant to postpone their Hour Record attempt to 2023. The UCI rules regarding handlebars will change, requiring the entire front section of the bike to be a new design," Cioni said. Not breaking the record would mean throwing away all the development time and a year's work Pinarello has put into this bike, and that would be disrespectful to them."

Pinarello's work has, of course, already borne fruit this year. Dan Bigham, performance engineer for the Ineos Grenadiers, is the current holder of the UCI Hour Record. The Englishman set a new record of 55. On August 19, he rode 548 km at the Velodrome in Grenchen, adding just under a half kilometer to Victor Kampenaerts' previous record.

The knowledge gained from Bigum's ride will surely help Ganna in his challenge: "He has to break the engineer's record, otherwise he will be in big trouble ......."