Sean Conway has had to call a halt to his attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for cycling across Europe from west to east due to a torn muscle.
> Sean Conway begins cycling across Europe record attempt
The Zimbabwe-born adventurer, now based in the Lake District, had been planning to undertake the 4,500-mile ride in 24 days or fewer.
However, he had to abandon through injury after 800 miles as he headed into the Pyrenees.
In a statement released via sponsor Yellow Jersey Cycle Insurance, he said: “It’s with a very heavy heart that I have decided to withdraw from my World Record Cycle attempt due to injury.
“I have not taken this decision lightly and don’t deal very well with failing at challenges however I just do not feel that I will be able to give this record the power I need to break the impressive new record set recently by Jonas Deichmann.
“For now, I’m sorry that I’ve not been able to carry on and wish to thank everyone who has supported this project.
“Needless to say I’m now going to take some time out to recover as quickly as possible before I announce my next challenge.
“It’s such a tough decision to admit defeat and I am gutted however, I will take this time to rebuild my strength and come back stronger.
“It goes without saying that, all being well, I will be back to give this another shot next year.”
Yellow Jersey Cycle Insurance director Ryan Georgiades added: “We’re gutted for Sean. It’s so tough having to call time on a dream but we know he will be back and we’re looking forward to supporting him moving forward on his next adventure.”
13 thoughts on “Sean Conway abandons Guinness World Record attempt through injury”
Facial muscle injuries caused
Facial muscle injuries caused by beard caught in spokes?
Beard sprain
Beard sprain
May I suggest our hero sets
May I suggest our hero sets his sights on the Olympic Hide and Seek event? He appears to have already made a head start on the competition.
It’s tough for him. You have
It’s tough for him. You have to be sure you are in peak physical condition with no injuries for the full duration of the ride.
I hope he can come back stronger and have a real good crack at the record.
Gotta feel for him – must
Gotta feel for him – must have put a lot into preparing for this. 🙁 I’m a little sad that the first three comments on here seem to be pretty much poking fun at the guy 🙁
DaveE128 wrote:
I totally agree that any of these ultra endurance round-the-world people are in a whole different level of fitness than pretty much anyone who comments on here, and deserve a huge round of applause. Seriously.
(On the other hand, these races really takes it out of you: you know he’s only twenty, right?
)
DaveE128 wrote:
I would imagine most people on here have had to face disappointment when plans for our own – less ambitious – personal challenges have ended badly. So, there is sympathy for sure. But he does have a very, very silly beard.
I must admit I don’t even know what the record stands at, but I do wish him well in shaving something off.
800 miles is pretty good in
800 miles is pretty good in its own right. Hope he has another go and completes it. I’m all in favour of people trying things, win or lose.
But – does he shave his legs?
ConcordeCX wrote:
No he dosen’t
don’t worry about recovering
don’t worry about recovering quickly Sean, recover fully! Looking forward to your future exploits.
Why does everyone feel
Why does everyone feel “gutted” when anything happens?
pedalpowerDC wrote:
For the same reason everyone is ‘devastated’ after any minor inconvenience.
pedalpowerDC wrote:
Because he has trained hard for years towards this goal, and committed considerable resources to it, but not been able to complete it. He’s risked a considerable amount to attain a goal, and not been able to complete the journey, let alone achieve the goal. Or were you querying the etymological basis of a colloquial ‘eviscerated’?