Lael Wilcox Abandons Around the World Record Attempt Amid Extreme Heat

Lael Wilcox abandoned her around the world cycling record attempt after enduring days of extreme heat across the European leg of her ride.

“I mean, it’s kind of a miracle I haven’t just passed out,” Wilcox said in an interview with her support team posted to her Instagram account. “I’ve never tried so hard,” she said as tears started to well in her eyes.

That’s saying a lot for someone who knows how to suffer like few others, having made a career out of doing the hardest ultra-endurance rides imaginable. For her latest test, Wilcox had planned to ride a total of 18,000 miles in 78 days, averaging 240 miles a day, to beat the world record set by Mark Beaumont in 2017.

Wilcox already owns the women’s record for the feat at 108.5 days, besting the previous mark by 16 days. That attempt left much room to improve the time: it was done on a relatively mountainous route, with Wilcox carrying her own gear, and riding with supporters along her journey.

Her 2026 route has been optimized for flat terrain, and she has had a full support team, just as Beaumont had for his record-setting ride. All the details were dialed in, but Wilcox hadn’t anticipated extreme heat setting her back to this extent.

From Chicago to France

“I’ve been nauseous every day and finally threw up in the first hour of my ride this morning— heat exhaustion got the better of me,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Concerned for my health & safety, my team asked me to stop my ride. Honestly, I’m amazed I’ve endured the past 14 days. Conditions have been really tough.

“I hate to quit, but it’s the right choice this time. I just can’t manage race pace in the heat.”

After setting out from her hometown of Chicago on June 7, Wilcox had finished the first leg of her journey across southern Canada and had made it across the Iberian peninsula and more than halfway through France before she was forced to throw in the towel. She had traveled just over 3,000 miles in two weeks.

For comparison, the Tour de France next month will cover just over 2,000 miles in three weeks.

Extreme heat hits Europe

Lael Wilcox had fallen off her 240-mile-per-day average pace amid the heat and had been trying to cool down with rest stops and ice packs, but even a highly trained athlete like herself isn’t immune to extreme heat, especially when her record-setting ride itinerary leaves no leeway for a rest day.

Extreme heat has been impacting Europe in recent days, and is expected to stick around this week, following her planned route across France, into Belgium, Germany and beyond. Temperatures neared 100 degrees F yesterday in Fontainebleau, France, where she ultimately called off her record attempt. Today, the temperature is forecasted to be even higher.

“This one I feel like it’s more of another climate change lesson, which every year I’m having more and more of those, you know,” Wilcox said. “And then it’s like with this my biggest concern was smoke in the west (of the U.S.) and it’s like we’re two months away from that.

“I don’t take enjoyment out of how hard it is; I just try to survive. But each day I think ‘oh this might be the last day’ and I guess today is the last day. I’ve never had that mentality because there’s always a way to push through, except with smoke. And then it turns out it’s not just smoke; it’s also extreme heat.”

Amid the disappointment of having to end her journey early, Wilcox maintained her trademark upbeat attitude.

“[I’m] riding the strongest I think I ever have but it’s just not coming together,” she said. “It’s OK; it’s a bike ride. You know what though, I feel fine. It’s not like the most devastating thing. It’s like you do things, you try.”

For now, Wilcox’s plans are to head to Switzerland and then back home.