American cyclist Sean Gardner Everests in under 7 hours, breaking the world record
6:59:38 is the new time to beat
Photo by:
Instagram/Sean Gardner
Does the threat of a second wave mean the return of Everesting? On Satuday, American rider Sean Gardner got the ball rolling again on 2020’s most popular cycling trend when he broke the seven-hour barrier, finishing his effort in 6:59:38.
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The cyclist chose a segment in Shenandoah National Park, located in his home state of Virginia. The road is just 1.1kms long and averages a 15.5 per cent gradient. In order to hit 8,848m of elevation, Gardner was required to do 51 repeats of the climb, which he completed in just under 120km.
Hells 500, the keeper of all Everesting data, said: ” Y I K E S . . .Amazing riding Sean Gardner!” and have officially posted the cyclist’s time on the Everesting.cc hall of fame.
Second time’s a charm
Gardner’s record is just five minutes under the previous world record—7:04:41 set in July by Ronan McLaughlin. This is not Gardner’s first Everest; The USAC level 3 coach set the second-fastest Everesting time in September with a time of seven hours and 25 minutes. On Saturday he was able to take what he had learned from the experience and shave off almost half an hour from his first attempt.
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“New World Record in the Everesting challenge today,” Gardner wrote on Instagram. “Official time of 6:59:38! Hyped to sneak under that sub 7 barrier and take the record. Full recap coming tomorrow once I have regained consciousness and consumed many calories. Huge shoutout to the support crew for coming out to give me poptarts. After 850 grams of sugar, I definitely have the diabetes.”
As we patiently wait for a follow-up post, Gardner appears to still be regaining consciousness and consuming many well deserved calories.
