A French ultra-endurance cyclist attempting to break the world record for the fastest crossing of Eurasia by bicycle has reportedly been arrested in Russia accused of an illegal border crossing.
Sofiane Sehili described it as “heartbreaking” last week when his final 400km stretch to Vladivostok, the Russian port city on the far eastern Pacific tip of Asia, was halted by border officials at the China-Russia crossing.
Then, in a dramatic twist, several days later on Friday, French newspaper Le Monde reported Sehili — a former winner of the Silk Road Mountain Race, Tour Divide and Atlas Mountain Race — reported he had been arrested and accused of illegally crossing the border.
The exact circumstances of Sehili’s arrest remain somewhat murky, Le Monde reporting he was arrested in Vladivostok after “completing his plan to break the world record”, while other reports have suggested the arrest was at or near the border.
The most recent and detailed account, in L’Equipe, suggests the 44-year-old is in pre-trial detention in Russia and French government officials are now working to assist him. It also states he was arrested near the Russian border having crossed through some woods after being denied entry.
L’Equipe says it was able to verify its information with Sehili’s partner. Having been halted by border officials at one China-Russia crossing he rode 200km to another crossing but was denied access there too.
“I’m the main attraction, the only foreigner,” Sehili told his Instagram followers. “The police inspect my bike, look at me, and don’t say anything. I don’t know if I’ll be able to cross the border. Failing so close to the goal is heartbreaking. Now I have ten months to decide if I want to go for this record again… or if it will remain a failure forever.”
With 33 hours left to get to Vladivostok to break the record, L’Equipe reports Sehili was informed that only crossing by a 20km train journey would be authorized, something which would obviously rule his two-month-long attempt void.
“There, it’s really a no man’s land that you can only cross by train,” his partner Fanny Bensussan told the newspaper.
He then apparently crossed the border through some nearby woods and presented himself at the rail customs on the Russian side, where he was arrested.
“He recognises it but he hasn’t taken the measure of the situation,” Bensussan continued.
Sehili had documented his Eurasia-crossing epic on Instagram, uploading daily videos and a dot-watching page for fans to follow online. However, both abruptly stopped, his final video showing him riding closer to the Russian border in pursuit of the record of Jonas Deichmann who rode from Lisbon to Vladivostok in 2017 in 64 days, two hours and 25 minutes.
Following a similar route between the two cities, including stretches through Mongolia and Tajikistan, Sehili’s final Instagram video shows him nearing the end of his journey, the ultra-endurance rider’s most recent post, from six days ago, now featuring numerous comments from concerned fans and friends.
17 thoughts on “French ultra-endurance cyclist arrested for ‘illegally crossing Russian border’ at end of 18,000km Eurasian cycling world record attempt”
This misadventure reminds all
This misadventure reminds all of us, pro ultra-distance champ or weekend warrior on a short backpacking trip, that logistics and advanced planning are key components in a hassle-free journey.
Border crossings on two wheels in Asia can be subject to changes and amendments without prior notice, regardless of how much cash you may drop.
MaxiMinimalist wrote:
Pompous much? And what good are “logistics and advanced planning” if the border crossings are “subject to changes and amendments without prior notice”?
Well, for starters it might
Well, for starters it might occur to the traveller-to-be that entering a hostile country with an authoritarian regime may not be safe. Especially considering the fact that the political climate around it changed long before his departure.
I’m really sorry for the poor chap and I wish he’d finished and come back safe. But disobeying an officer is never a good idea, especially in a bandit state like Russia.
tomlew wrote:
That’s no way to talk about the UK.
UK is like North Korea these
UK is like North Korea these days!
joe9090 wrote:
Er… because they both have nuclear weapons? Because Korean food is eaten in both (but possibly more in the UK…)?
… nope, that’s all I’ve got!
They’re both *K?
They’re both *K?
Can’t say you’re North Korean
Can’t say you’re North Korean these days…
Beatnik69 wrote:
Indeed! Can’t say *anything* on the Internet if you are!
The usual rule applies – more mentions of “people” in the name of the state the less freedom they have. The DPRK scores 3 (in English, latin and Greek roots)!
Arguably four, since ‘Korea’
Arguably four, since ‘Korea’ apparently (so Wikipedia tells me) derives from the name of a local tribe.
chrisonabike wrote:
Which one are you claiming for English? Democratic from Greek dēmokrătĭkós, People from Latin populus and Republic from Latin res publica, as far as I’m aware.
Indeed I stand corrected, it
Indeed I stand corrected, it was from Latin via French: no folk-moots here.
But then I suppose Latin may have had people / public from Etruscan etc. And it’s all English now (reminding us that the language at least is very welcoming of immigrant words).
The very fact that you can
The very fact that you can make this sad little comment on a platform accessed worldwide suggests very clearly that it is not.
You are correct, but I
You are correct, but I believe that they may be referencing the front page of one of the UK’s national newspapers.
Ridiculous isn’t it?
In other times perhaps, but
In other times perhaps, but just right now risking any misdemeanor in Russia would seem naive (or reckless). I hope this gets sorted but before you can say “hostage diplomacy” he may be looking at a longer layoff than 10 months…
If you are a citizen of the
If you are a citizen of the West, entering Russia even legally right now seems pretty reckless, and entering it illegally – doubly reckless. He probably underestimated the nastiness of Putin’s regime or wasn’t thinking clearly in his desperation to salvage the record, but the whole plan was dubious from the start since crossing Eurasia necessarily involves going through Russia (and even before his illegal crossing from China, Sehili had already passed through a fair chunk of Russia, entering legally from Georgia).
What Jonas Deichmann did in 2017 without much trouble (but avoiding any transit through Central Asia/China and reentry into Russia) now seems an unnecessarily risky enterprise. And if someone really nasty gets out of a Western prison as a result (like in the Brittney Griner / Victor Bout exchange), the public opinion might not be very sympathetic to Sophiane.
I assume the guy had a valid
I assume the guy had a valid Russian visa but that it wasn’t permitted for foot/cycle passengers to cross that border. That isn’t unusual, many borders forbid it, and Russian border guards would have zero incentive to ‘be nice’. The best solution is usually to try to hitch a ride in a car or truck with your bike, just the 1-2km through the border.
Alternatively, given the situation in Russia, you would think that it would have been considered acceptable by Guinness BOWR to get to the Russian border, and then ride 300km or whatever the distance was, back through China?
As another option, why didn’t he just get on the 20km train trip across the Russian border as he was told, and then cycle back on himself for 10km before pressing on to Vladivostok? Would the Guinness BOWR people not accept that, given the situation?!
Seems like a comedy of errors by both the cyclist (perhaps due to exhaustion/not thinking straight?), and the real/imagined unwillingness of GBOWR to allow some flexibility in the certification.