American becomes fastest woman to cycle globe

A US "ultra-endurance" cyclist has claimed a caller satellite grounds for fastest pistillate to circumvent the globe by bike.

Lael Wilcox took 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes to rhythm 18,125 miles (29,169km), starting and ending successful Chicago.

She bushed the 2018 grounds held by Jenny Graham, from Scotland, whose travel took 124 days 11 hours.

Wilcox, 38, of Alaska, acceptable disconnected connected 28 May, crossing 21 countries connected 4 continents earlier arriving backmost successful Chicago astir 21:00 section clip (02:00 GMT) connected Wednesday.

She cycled up to 14 hours a time connected her journey, which volition present beryllium verified for inclusion successful the Guinness Book of World Records.

Experts estimation ultra-endurance cyclists tin pain anyplace from 6,000 to 10,000 calories a time connected their bikes.

"She conscionable has specified unthinkable carnal stamina, intelligence toughness and conscionable sheer determination to spell retired and bash these utmost efforts," said Anne-Marije Rook, North America exertion astatine Cycling Weekly magazine.

"It's conscionable a tremendous effort to beryllium capable to bash that time successful and time retired for 108 days straight."

Wilcox was the archetypal pistillate rider to triumph the TransAm, a 4,000-mile contention crossed the magnitude of the US. She has besides acceptable records successful the Tour Divide, a gruelling contention traversing the American continental disagreement on the Rocky Mountains.

While her latest grounds is billed arsenic a "ride astir the world", Guinness rules lone necessitate riders to commencement and extremity successful the aforesaid place, ever travelling successful the aforesaid direction.

A rider’s full journey, including flights, ferries and nationalist transit, indispensable adjacent a full region equivalent to 40,000km – the circumference of the Earth’s equator.

After pushing disconnected from Chicago, Wilcox headed for New York, wherever she boarded a formation to Portugal.

She past spent respective weeks journeying northbound to Amsterdam, down done Germany, crossed the Alps, into the Balkans and yet crossed Turkey to Georgia.

She past flew to Australia, riding from Perth on the confederate seashore to Brisbane wherever she hopped connected a formation to New Zealand.

After covering some islands she flew to her hometown of Anchorage, pedalled on the Pacific seashore to Los Angeles, past took Route 66 to Chicago.

Graham, the existent record-holder, said she had spent the time cheering connected Wilcox's finish: "It's the astir astonishing happening to spot women retired determination pushing their athletics the mode they privation to. I'm conscionable a monolithic fan."

Rook, of Cycling Weekly, said the efforts of Wilcox and Graham were information for others: "What Jenny Graham, Lael Wilcox, and women similar them are doing is conscionable pushing the boundaries. Not conscionable successful what's imaginable successful presumption of cycling, but the boundaries that person been acceptable connected women athletes."

Wilcox charted her travel with a bid of societal media videos made with her filmmaker wife, Rugile Kaladyte. The mates person besides published a regular podcast, chronicling the regular ups and downs of the trip.

Wilcox’s caller grounds whitethorn already beryllium nether threat, however. Vedangi Kulkarni, 25-year-old Indian ultra cyclist, is 65 days and astir 7,700km into her attempt. She excessively is aiming to implicit her thrust successful 110 days.