Ronan McLaughlin, the 33-year-old Irish amateur road racing cyclist who previously rode for An Post-Chainreaction, has today provisionally broken the world Everesting record set by Alberto Contador.
(The record has since been ratified, which you can read about by following this link.)
McLaughlin just over two weeks ago shattered the Irish record when he recorded the fifth fastest Everesting in the world, with a time of 8 hours 13 minutes.
He took to Mamore Gap in Co Donegal, in Ireland's north west, for that effort in mid July and went back to the same climb today - Thursday, July 30th - to try and go even faster.
Incredibly he not only beat his own time but went almost one hour faster, recording a time of 7 hours 18 minutes.
And once that time is ratified by Hells 500, the Australian group that created the Everesting concept and is the official keeper of the record books, then Irish cyclist McLaughlin is the new world record holder.
Advertisement
As well as targeting the fastest time possible, the Donegal man was also fundraising for the Community Rescue Service and you can donate by following this link.
Ronan McLaughlin, who has won some of Ireland's biggest races in the last couple of seasons, spoke to stickybottle briefly very late on Thursday night but had to cut the conversation short as he felt unwell.
However, he said when he did his first Everesting effort just over two weeks ago, he felt after it that he could have gone faster, and that was why he decided to go again so soon.
"I'm in a pretty bad away at the minute, I could be sick here any minute," he said at the start of the brief interview by phone late on Thursday night, explaining that he may have to cut the call short, which he did after a few minutes.
"The last day, I did a few things... erring on the side of caution because I didn't know what I was getting into, or would I even be able to do it," he said of his first Everesting effort on July 12th.
However, he explained to stickybottle back then that he had prepared for months for that ride. Furthermore, anyone who knows the way McLaughlin prepares, and the performances he is capable of, was not surprised at the ride he did on July 12th.
This time around he shortened the stretch of Mamore Gap that he rode. That meant his average gradient was 14 per cent today, rather than the average 11 per cent he rode during his first effort.
Related News
And by tweaking the section of the climb, and descent, that he rode today he also shortened his overall ride.
"It meant I had to do more laps (and passages of climbing) than I had to the first time (on July 12th), but it shaved 35km off the distance I had to do this time.
"I also stripped my bike down this time; I threw comfort out the window," he said, explaining that one modification was stripping his 11-speed bike down so he only had three gears.
"I stripped everything (on the bike) down as far as I could and I also just went harder as well," he said of feeling more comfortable about his second attempt because he knew what was in store after his first Everesting ride earlier this month.
"I normalised 300 watts for 7½ hours so it was a pretty hard effort. I knew I could go faster than the last time, I knew I could go sub-8 hours," he explained of his ride today.
"I had an indication that I could challenge Contador's time, but I still didn't really want to be thinking about that given who it is we're talking about... it's crazy."
McLaughlin started his ride late today, waiting until 2.30pm on Thursday, because the earlier part of the day was rained out.
Once his time is ratified, he will have knocked seven-time Grand Tour winner Contador off the top spot in the record books; an incredible achievement for McLaughlin.
The Donegal man, who now works full time, represented Ireland at elite World Road Championships level and has ridden as a top domestic rider in Ireland since stepping back from Continental level racing in 2013.
Once his time is ratified by Hells 500, as his first effort was, it will thrust McLaughlin into the cycling limelight globally and may prompt Contador to go again to try and take back his record.
Contador set a new Everesting world record in early July in Spain with a time of 7hrs 27mins, which beat Lachlan Morton’s time; the EF Pro Cycling rider having held the record for a matter of weeks with 7hrs 29mins.
McLaughlin was delighted with his time of just over two weeks ago when he recorded the fifth fastest time of all time, which was quickly ratified by Hells 500.
However, subject to ratification he has now gone even faster and he is the new Everesting world record holder, ahead of Contador, Morton, international mountain biker Keegan Swanson (7hrs 40mins) and former pro rider Phil Gaimon (7hrs 52mins).
More to follow.
Topics
