Lael Wilcox becomes the fastest woman to cycle around the world

The American Lael Wilcox has just completed the fastest female bike ride around the world to date. This experienced ultracyclist has taken 108 and a half days to draw a line of about 29,000 km starting and ending in Chicago.

Lael Wilcox sets a new Guinness Record for cycling around the world: 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes

At 38 years old, Lael Wilcox was already a recognized cyclist in ultra-distance and holds the current female records in the Tour Divide and Trans Am. But this new challenge went much further and she achieved it. Wilcox departed from the city of Chicago on May 26 and after 108 days, 12 hours, and 12 minutes covering 29,169 km she returned to the starting point on Wednesday, September 11 to set a new female record for cycling around the world.

Until yesterday, Scottish cyclist Jenny Graham, who was cheering Wilcox on throughout her journey, held the shortest time to complete this feat, but Lael Wilcox has reduced it by more than 2 weeks pedaling about 14 hours a day through 21 countries.

The rules of the Guinness Record describe that this activity must be done in a single trip, following the same direction, including two antipodes, and with a minimum pedaled distance of 28,970 km. The circumference of the Earth measures 40,000 km, which is completed with flights or boat transfers.

Wilcox's journey began in Chicago, where she cycled to New York to catch a flight to Portugal. Once in Europe, she passed through Spain and spent several weeks cycling through Germany until reaching Amsterdam, from where she headed to the Balkans, through the Alps. She traveled through Turkey towards Georgia to catch a new flight. She landed in Australia, crossed it from coast to coast, and flew to New Zealand to do the same. From there, she flew to her hometown of Anchorage to complete the final stage of the journey, first from the Pacific coast to Los Angeles and from there to Chicago along the famous Route 66.

Wilcox has been documenting and sharing her journey through her podcast and social media, in addition, the clothing brand Rapha was continuously tracking her journey on their website.