From the creative cycling mind that brought us the Alt Tour comes a planetary-scale world-record attempt.
The current record for cycling around the planet is 78 days, 14 hours, and 40 minutes.
Mark Beaumont holds it. Soon, Lachlan Morton will try to snatch it away, EF Education-EasyPost coach Jonathan Vaughters told Cycling Weekly.
When exactly he will embark remains unclear due to various global complications.
For an official attempt, the Australian rider will have to pedal 18,000 miles continuously in one direction, Cycling Weekly said. To set the existing record in 2017, Beaumont covered an average — average — of 240 miles a day. He described the effort as “the longest two-and-a-half months of my life.”
Morton has spent most of 2022 staying out of headlines. He rode in only two official events this year: the 4-day Gran Camiño in northern Spain and the first-ever UCI Gravel World Championships. (He did not place in the top 100 at the Gran Camiño, and he took 18th at the Gravel Worlds.)
Vaughters told Cycling Weekly it’s all part of the plan for Morton, who likely won’t refocus on racing anytime soon.
“He won’t be doing any road races, really,” Vaughters told the outlet. “What we wanted to do was to try the around-the-world record [in the second half of 2023], but the sticking point on that right now is Russia.”
Meanwhile, Morton only confirmed to Cycling Weekly that the attempt is in the works — without mentioning specifics. Per the outlet, the cyclist said “nothing concrete” currently exists regarding plans.
Guidelines and rules that govern the record were unavailable on Guinness’ website as of this writing, and the company had not responded to GearJunkie’s request for further details. According to worldtravelguide.net, the riders must travel “continous[ly] in one direction.” The total distance traveled, including flights and ferries, must exceed the length of the equator (24,901 miles).
