- Title: Egyptian cycles into Guinness record books
- Date: 26th July 2017
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CYCLIST, HELMY ELSAEED, BIKING ON CAIRO-SOKHNA ROAD ELSAEED SEATED AT DESK VARIOUS OF GUINNESS WORLD RECORD CERTIFICATE FOR FASTEST CYCLE ACROSS EUROPE ON DISPLAY READING (English): 'THE FASTEST CYCLE ACROSS EUROPE (CABO DA ROCA TO UFA) IN A TEAM IN 29 DAYS 5 HOURS AND 25 MINUTES AND WAS ACHIEVED BY HELMY ELSAEED (EGYPT), MANS MOLLER (SWEDEN), CHRISTER SKOG (SWEDEN), TONY DEBURG (SWEDEN) AND PER ANDRES LISSOLAS (SWEDEN) FROM 21 MAY TILL JUNE 19 2017' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CYCLIST, HELMY ELSAEED, SAYING: "We took the bicycles and rode them every day for 29 days until we reached the most western point in Europe which is Cabo da Roca in Portugal." ELSAEED'S CYCLING VEST WITH EGYPTIAN FLAG, LOGO READING (English): 'VIGGO FOUNDATION' AND NAME TAG READING (English): 'HELMY' ELSAEED'S CYCLING VEST (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CYCLIST, HELMY ELSAEED, SAYING: "Our goal of breaking the record was to raise awareness for children with autism and we did this. It was done in the holy month of Ramadan and so it was done at a good time because people are looking to invest in this sort of thing." ELSAEED'S MARATHON MEDAL ON DISPLAY ELSAEED'S MEDAL AND MARATHON BADGE READING (English): 'HALF-MARATHON 21K' ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CYCLIST, HELMY ELSAEED, SAYING: "Me and my friends, who are involved in running and adventure, are planning to cross the whole of Egypt on foot from the most northern point to the most southern point." VARIOUS OF ELSAEED WORKING ON BICYCLE ON ROADSIDE
- Embargoed: 9th August 2017 12:16
- Keywords: Guiness World Record Egyptian cyclist autism awareness fast cycle across Europe
- Location: CAIRO, EGYPT
- City: CAIRO, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Cycling,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0016RCQEL1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Egyptian cyclist Helmy Elsaeed broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest cycle across Europe, whilst raising money for children with autism.
In record breaking time, 27-year old Elsaeed and a team of four other Swedish cyclists, cycled over 6000 km across Europe in May - from Ufa in Russia to Cabo da Roca in Portugal.
The team 'FastestXEurope' travelled through Russia, Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal.
"We took the bicycles and rode them every day for 29 days until we reached the most western point in Europe which is Cabo da Roca in Portugal," Elsaeed said.
They took 29 days, 5 hours and 25 minutes to complete their journey, breaking the previous record by over 12 hours.
An experienced cyclist and endurance athlete, Elsaeed trained day and night for over a year, often cycling 100km a day.
But even for Elsaeed, the journey's gruelling conditions put his body and mind to the ultimate test, with the team cycling an average of 220km a day through extreme terrain and weather conditions including very hot temperatures, low visibility and strong head winds.
The team also faced a major challenge over the last two days when they found themselves behind schedule and decided to forfeit sleep and pedal 530km.
But the record breaker said the journey was all worth it to raise money and awareness for children with autism.
One of the team, Swedish cyclist Mans Moller, has a son with autism and had set up the Viggo foundation to help children with autism take part in sports.
All donations and reward money were donated to the foundation.
Elsaeed said that the journey was scheduled for the holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims give money to charitable initiatives, to maximise their donations.
"Our goal of breaking the record was to raise awareness for children with autism and we did this. It was done in the holy month of Ramadan and so it was done at a good time because people are looking to invest in this sort of thing," he said.
Previously working in investment and business development, Elsaeed quit his job to focus on being an endurance athlete full time.
He has since completed a 2012 cross country ski across the Arctic and a solo bike journey across South East Asia in 2016.
And he has no plans to slow down.
"Me and my friends, who are involved in running and adventure, are planning to cross the whole of Egypt on foot from the most Northern point to the most Southern point," he said.
Also an accomplished cross-country skier, his next ambition is to represent Egypt in the Winter Olympics. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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