Wiggins -- who undertook six weeks of intensive training ahead of the blue riband event for the furthest distance travelled in one hour -- rode into history in front of six thousand noisy fans, destroying the 52.937 set by Dowsett in Manchester.
"I'm just glad it's done now, that's the closest I will come to ever knowing what it's like to have a baby," the 35-year-old told Sky TV.
"It was just torturous; you are constantly looking at the clock, counting down the minutes. So I'm really relieved that it's done now."
The 2012 Tour de France winner, four-time Olympic gold medallist and multiple world champion on road and track, covered 219 laps in 60 agonising minutes, maintaining his record-setting pace despite concerns about the slight slowing effect of high air pressure in London.
Wiggins is the fifth person since September to break the record -- held in the past by Eddy Merckx and Chris Boardman -- after the UCI changed the rules to allow riders to use whatever equipment is ruled legal for track timed events.
He looked on total control from the start and delivered a highly assured performance, though finished just shy of the 55km target he had spoken of.
However, Wiggins said there were no regrets about failing to reach that milestone, saying: "Just to get up there and put yourself on the line takes a lot of courage. It's a mental game more than physical, it's tough."
Asked where the new record ranks in his stellar career he said: "It just tops it off...it's memorable, it really is. More than any other ride I have done it was a bit emotional really."
(Editing by Mitch Phillips)
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