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In the evening twilight hours of September 11, 2024, Lael Wilcox became the unofficial new world record holder for the Fastest Circumnavigation of the World by Bicycle (female).

Wilcox left Chicago’s Grant Park at 7:06 a.m. on May 26, 2024, and returned to the Buckingham Fountain 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes later, having completed 18,125 miles (29,169 km) across four continents and 22 countries.

Wilcox travelled the world aboard a customised Specialized Roubaix and tackled North America first, then Europe. She then flew to Bangkok to ride across Thailand and Malaysia, finishing in Singapore. Next, she flew to Australia and New Zealand, racking up miles along the way, before flying back to her home state of Alaska, and riding back to where it all began in Chicago, Illinois. You can see her full route here.

Wilcox is a world-renowned endurance athlete who stumbled into bike racing 10 years ago and has dominated the sport of uber-long sufferfests ever since. The FKT-chaser’s list of accomplishments includes records at basically all of the world’s biggest endurance races and trails, including Iditorod, Tour Divide, Baja Divide, Trans-Am, Navad 1,000, Badlands, Westfjords Way Challenge, and the Arizona Trail – just to name a few. Wilcox also won the 350-mile Unbound XL in 2021 after riding her bike 600 miles to the start. And now, she’s added the biggest FKT of them all to her list.