AN athlete from Kendal will be attempting to break a world record for the fastest crossing of Europe by bicycle.

Sean Conway will set off from Cabo de Roca on the west coast of Portugal on Saturday and attempt to cycle 4,500 miles to Ufa, in Russia, in less than 25 days.

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The current record stands at 29 days, 18 hours and 25 minutes. In order to reach his target, Sean will need to cycle roughly 180 miles a day.

“I’m looking to not only break the World Record for the fastest cycle across Europe but also to have the opportunity to meet some incredible people along the way," Sean said. "It’s an uncertain time across Europe at the moment and we rarely hear reports of how nice people can be, only the bad stuff.

“Europe is an incredibly diverse continent with so many different people and cultures. I hope that I will be able to spend some time along the way chatting to the people that I meet and finding out more about the lives our neighbours lead."

Sean also hopes that he will be able to inspire more people to get outdoors and embrace a more active lifestyle.

This is not the first challenge that he has undertaken, in 2016 he completed a 4,000 mile ultra-triathlon which circumnavigated the entire coast of Britain.

He began his adventures in 2012 when he set out to break the world record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by bicycle. Despite being in the lead, sadly he was knocked off his bike in America.

"I’ve completed a world first and a world’s furthest but this is my first shot at a world’s fastest record and I can’t wait to get going," he said.

Sean’s adventure will also form part of a scientific study. He is going to be monitored throughout the attempt by Dr Howard Hurst, sports scientist at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston.

He is interested in monitoring the effect that cycling 180 miles a day for nearly four weeks has on the body and will be looking at heart rate, power and pacing during the attempt along with body composition changes and VO2 max changes before and after the challenge.

You can follow Sean’s World Record attempt via his live tracker at https://www.yellowjersey.co.uk/sean-conway-cycling-world-record-attempt/