Almost two months after he was arrested on suspicion of illegally crossing the Russian border, Sofiane Sehili has finally been released from detention, his partner confirming this morning that the French ultra-endurance cyclist is “going home”.

According to Russian state news agency RIA, Sehili was found guilty on Thursday of attempting to illegally cross the border from China by a court in the Primorsky Krai region of Russia, located in the far-east of the country.

Judge Irina Billé sentenced the 44-year-old to a fine of 50,000 Rubles (around €530), but due to his time spent in pre-trial detention, Sehili was exempted from paying the penalty and released.

Arrangements are currently being made to facilitate his travel home to France, Sehili’s partner, fellow endurance cyclist Fanny Bensussan, confirmed on social media on Thursday morning.

Sofiane Sehili
Sofiane Sehili (Image Credit: Instagram)

At the time of his arrest, the Frenchman – a former winner of the Silk Road Mountain Race, Tour Divide, and Atlas Mountain Race – was attempting to break the world record for the fastest crossing of Eurasia by bike, travelling through 17 countries from Lisbon to Vladivostok, the Russian port city on the far eastern Pacific tip of Asia.

He was just days and 400km away from finishing the 17,500km ride when he was first stopped by Russian border guards on 2 September. The 44-year-old then reportedly rode a further 200km to another crossing but was denied access too.

With 33 hours left to get to Vladivostok to break the record, set in 2017 by Jonas Deichmann, Sehili was then informed that he could only cross the border via a 20km train journey, a move which would have obviously ruled his two-month-long attempt void.

Instead, he rode through some nearby woods and made his own way to the border post at the train station to report himself. There, he was promptly arrested on suspicion of crossing the border illegally and placed in pre-trial detention.

Sofiane Sehili Instagram screenshot
Sofiane Sehili Instagram screenshot (Image Credit: Sofiane Sehili/@reneherse/Instagram)

Sehili had previously vlogged about his difficulties crossing the Russian border, having earlier ridden into Russia from Georgia. He had travelled through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and China before his social media accounts went silent and his online tracker stopped recording his location.

Since his arrest, Bensussan has shared updates on Sehili’s condition, though she has had no direct contact with her partner and has been relying on information provided by the Russian authorities.

At the beginning of October, Bensussan reported that the court chose to detain him for another month, and that he was sharing a 15 square metre cell with two inmates and learning Russian. He was facing five year’s imprisonment, the maximum penalty for illegally entering Russia.

However, following Thursday’s ruling in court, after almost two months in a Russian cell, Sehili is now free to return home.

“The hearing was held today. Sofiane is going home,” Bensussan posted on Instagram on Thursday morning.

 “Our Russian lawyer did a remarkable job for a quick hearing to be held and in obtaining a judgment as quickly as possible. We’ve kept all this confidential so she can move forward without interference.

“Thank you all for your support during these two long months, thank you for your patience, for being there. Please give us a few more days to arrange Sofiane’s return.

“Next update should come from the boy. I’ll just be riding my bike.”