Cycling champ Mark Beaumont has ridden into the record books after reaching the finishing line of his gruelling African adventure.
The Perthshire adventurer officially became the fastest man to bike across the continent, having completed his epic 6,200-mile solo quest from Cairo to Cape Town in just 42 days.
His time shaves 17 days off the world record set by South African Keegan Lungueria in March. Before that the top time was 70 days.
The former Dundee High School pupil, 32, has also shattered his own target of 50 days when he cycled into Mouillie Point on the continent’s most south-westerly tip just after 5.30pm local time.
Speaking as he embarked on the final stretch, he said: “Ever since Botswana I was thinking it might be possible to get to Cape Town in 42 days. I’ve been really pushing in the last 40 days obviously, but I’ve just been giving it everything I’ve got in the last three or four days to try to get to Cape Town in that time.”
To meet his goal he cycled over 650 miles in three days, then a further 230 miles on Wednesday – when he set off about two-and-a-half hours before sunrise – leaving about 160 for the final leg.
He was joined by several other cyclists on the last part of the journey and met at the finish by family and friends, including his wife, daughter and mum.
Mark began his record-breaking bid on April 10. Averaging around 150 miles each day, he covered more than 4,200 miles in the first 30 days.
In the last week, he covered an average daily distance of around 220 miles.
During an early stretch in northern Kenya, an area of political upheaval, Mark received an armed security escort for about 300 miles.
He later revealed he had travelled for more than 1,000 miles on a broken bike and for a period was fuelled almost entirely by a diet of biscuits.
Mark said he had been burning off around 6,000 calories a day, making it crucial to fill up on snacks and drinks.
His efforts have made more than £30,000 for Orkidstudio, a Glasgow-based humanitarian design group of which Mark is patron.