26,846 metres in altitude: Austrian sets triple Everesting world record

The Austrian ultra-distance cyclist Jakob Wagenhofer has achieved an extraordinary endurance feat and set a new world record in the so-called Triple-Everesting. The 22-year-old from Graz completed a total of 525 kilometres and 26,846 metres in altitude on the Plesch, a mountain near his home town, in 40 hours 33 minutes and 39 seconds. The metres in altitude covered are just over three times the ascent of Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth at 8,848 metres. The achievement was officially recognised as a new world record. Arend Vandenbroucke was previously recognised in the Hall of Fame with a time of 41:24:03. He had done his triple Everesting in Spain in 2020 on a much steeper climb. As a result, he only had to ride 398.77 kilometres, but had to tackle the average gradient of 13.1 per cent. The previous record holder also didn't hit the total metres of altitude exactly on the climb he chose: with 27,126 metres of altitude, he was a little above the required values.

Extreme challenge Triple-Everesting

Triple Everesting is a step up from the already very demanding Everesting challenge. In classic Everesting, cyclists have to repeat a climb until they have reached the height of Mount Everest at 8,848 metres. The internet platform everesting.cc describes this task as "simple in concept, but brutally hard in execution". In triple Everesting, this already extreme challenge is tripled. The athletes have to conquer three times the Everest altitude of 26,544 metres without sleeping or taking shortcuts.

Wagenhofer's impressive performance data

Jakob Wagenhofer's performance even exceeded the required number of metres in altitude by more than 300 metres. It is estimated that he burned around 25,000 calories on his 525 kilometre ride. Despite his young age, the 22-year-old is no stranger to the ultracycling scene. He holds the Austrian record in the Double Everesting, which he set in 2024. He also successfully completed the Super Randonneur series in 2023, in which distances of up to 600 kilometres have to be covered. Wagenhofer is also committed to charitable causes and took part in 24-hour charity rides on the Zwift virtual training platform.