Ultra-endurance cycling is very different from being a regular road racer,” says Mark Beaumont, the 37-year-old record-breaking Scot, whose extraordinary feats have included rides across the Americas, from one end of Africa to the other, and even all around the world.
Beaumont on day 56 of his Cycling the Americas challenge, tackling one of many climbs along the Alaska Highway
“The ability to endure is very different to the ability to be a power or a speed athlete,” says Beaumont, whose first global expedition included several bouts of dysentery, a robbery and some hair-raising scares in northern Pakistan. “I’m 6ft 3in and weigh 90kg, so I’m not your traditional ‘roadie’ cyclist,” he says, before conceding, “I’ve got all these records for ultra-endurance cycling, but I’m not even the best bike rider in my home city of Edinburgh.”