Around the world in 80 days – Phileas Beaumont all set

Challenge: Perthshire adventurer’s plan to circumnavigate the globe

Ultra-endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont has announced plans to smash the record for circumnavigating the globe.

The Perthshire adventurer has set a target to bike around the world in 80 days – less than half the time he took to complete the route more than nine years ago.

He will begin his attempt to travel the 18,000 miles in Paris on July 2.

Beaumont is perhaps best known for completing his cycle around the globe in 194 days in February 2008, setting what was at that time a world record.

Since then, riders have whittled the record down to the current level of 123 days, set by New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson.

Beaumont will therefore have to break the existing world record by more than 40 days to achieve the tough target.

He will be supported by a team including a mechanic, nutritionist, physiotherapist and manager on the new tour, in contrast to his 2007-08 tour, when he travelled solo.

As a warm-up to the trip, called the Artemis World Cycle, he will first cycle around the coastline of Britain, beginning tomorrow. The 3,500-mile, 15-day training ride will be at “80 days” pace and will see Beaumont cycle for 16 hours and 240 miles per day.

He said: “This is the culmination of the past two decades, since I was a 12-year-old boy cycling across Scotland.

“I would love for this journey to give people the confidence to take on what they are capable of, for young people in particular to stop and to think ‘what’s my 80 days’?”

Beaumont added: “I want to redefine the limits of human endurance by proving what seems impossible really is possible. I am excited and nervous about what lies ahead, it truly is unchartered territory.”

The adventurer is raising funds for Orkidstudio, which works to benefit communities worldwide with innovative architecture and construction.

Mark Beaumont plans to cycle 16 hours every day, covering 240 miles, during the record bid.