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Rebecca Romero and James Cracknell in tandem E2E record attempt

Two days of riding start now...

Not content with rowing across the Atlantic and walking to the South Pole, James Cracknell has teamed up with fellow Olympic Gold medallist Rebecca Romero and they set off before dawn this morning to take on the tandem end-to-end record. The current mark is 2 days, 3 hours, 19 minutes and 23 seconds, set in 2000 by Andy Wilkinson and Lynne Taylor. The record attempt marks the launch of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain, which we reported on last week.

The pair are hoping that their lack of tandem experience – best measured in hours – will be offset by their athletic ability and mental toughness that will be needed on the gruelling two-day attempt. Cracknell and Romero are riding custom-built Dolan tandems for the ride: they will swap positions during the challenge and that requires them to have two bikes, something that's allowed in the rules for the record attempt.

“I am always looking for new challenges and the current record is extremely competitive", says Cracknell. "This is set to be both mentally and physically very tough but to break the world record will be a huge achievement - and the perfect way to mark the launch of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain.”

Romero was also guardedly positive about the attempt. “There’s no denying this is going to be hard, especially trying to combat sleep deprivation as we cycle non-stop throughout the night, but I am really looking forward to the challenge", she says. "It would be great to break this record and will be a huge accomplishment for me if we manage to do so.”

Both Cracknell and Romero are well used to pushing themselves to the limit, but this record attempt is certainly going to test them, not least because of their lack of preparation on the bike. We'll comment below to update their progress... keep checking back!

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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dave atkinson | 14 years ago
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sadly it's all over - Romero has been suffering from knee problems and finally had to pull out at midday. And presumably JC didn't fancy the last bit on his own  2

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purplecup | 14 years ago
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here they are in penrith...

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dave atkinson | 14 years ago
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In Scotland now - last spotted near lockerbie. according to the rra crib sheet that's a little ahead of schedule...

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Jon Burrage | 14 years ago
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Wish id gone out to see them go through bristol.

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dave atkinson | 14 years ago
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JC and RR were still going at dawn - last spotted on Shap Fell at 0530, which is more or less on schedule. assuming they were at the top, not the bottom...

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cactuscat | 14 years ago
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there's a RRA record attempt form thing at http://www.rra.org.uk/Files/CracknellRomero3.pdf

by now they should be on the A449 to Stafford... good luck chaps! I'm off to have a glass of wine and watch the telly, enjoy a rainy night and saddle sores. Still, at least JC gets to spend a whole day looking at RR's rear  1

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dave atkinson | 14 years ago
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They're on the A449 to Wolverhampton now, apparently. Which is a long way from Land's End. but also a long way from John O'Groats  1

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dave atkinson | 14 years ago
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The intrepid pair have left the wilds of cornwall and have almost reached civilisation. well, bristol. they're chugging up the a38 at the moment and their average speed is good... there's a looooong way to go though

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