{"id":123670,"date":"2026-06-23T18:23:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/a-woman-takes-the-overall-record-for-cycling-across-europe\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T18:23:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:23:56","slug":"a-woman-takes-the-overall-record-for-cycling-across-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/a-woman-takes-the-overall-record-for-cycling-across-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"A Woman Takes the Overall Record for Cycling Across Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>Sarah Ruggins, an ultra-distance cyclist, recorded the fastest time from the southern tip of the continent to the northern tip with a 13-day effort.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\"> (Photo: James Busby @JamesBusbyImages)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published June 23, 2026 12:23PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sarah Ruggins has set the outright record for a north-to-south crossing of Europe by bike. The Canadian-born doctor rode from Tarifa, Spain, to Nordkapp, Norway, a ride of over 6,000 kilometers that spans nine countries and roughly 35,000 metres of climbing. In total, Ruggins rode from the southernmost point in continental Europe to the northernmost point in just 13 days, 20 hours, and 27 minutes\u2014three days and 32 minutes faster than any person has completed the route. The previous record was set by Ian Walker in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Along the way, Ruggins also set a world record for the number of kilometers ridden by a woman in a week, notching 3,364 km over seven days, upping the benchmark by over 100km. Her overall record-setting accomplishment adds to a landmark year for female ultra-endurance efforts. This spring, Rachel Entrekin made history when she won the famous and fearsome Cocodona 250-mile running race outright.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo me, this record proves that women can compete alongside men at the elite level,\u201d Ruggins said of her effort, \u201cand I hope it\u2019s a powerful statement to every woman who wants to try.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_989993\" class=\"pom-image-wrap photo-alignnone\"><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Europe-South-to-North-FKT-2.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\"><img alt=\"Ruggins Europe South to North FKT-2\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2400\" height=\"1600\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-989993\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Europe-South-to-North-FKT-2.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover 1x\" src=\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Europe-South-to-North-FKT-2.jpg?width=3840&amp;auto=webp&amp;quality=75&amp;fit=cover\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"pom-caption\">(Photo: James Busby @JamesBusbyImages)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Perhaps the most extraordinary aspect of the feat is that Ruggins has only been riding for three years. Ruggins developed a rare neurological disease in her childhood, which prevented her from using her limbs. It took years to overcome the disease to first live independently and then, ultimately, to ride in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Three years later, the doctor has multiple world records, as her overall south-to-north European record joins her overall John o\u2019 Groats \u2013 Land\u2019s End \u2013 John o\u2019 Groats record she set last year.<\/p>\n<p>The record-setting attempt was a fundraising effort for <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbicyclerelief.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\">World Bicycle Relief<\/a>, a notable charity that provides bicycles to remote communities across the globe to allow mobility and connectivity to education, food, and medical care. You can donate to the charity through the <a target=\"_self\" class=\"text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.own2026.com\/world-bicycle-relief#donate\" rel=\"noopener\">World Bicycle Relief website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/sarah-ruggins-breaks-the-north-to-south-record-for-cycling-the-length-of-europe-beating-the-men-as-well\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sarah Ruggins, an ultra-distance cyclist, recorded the fastest time from the southern tip of the continent to the northern tip with a 13-day effort. (Photo: James Busby @JamesBusbyImages) Published June 23, 2026 12:23PM Sarah Ruggins has set the outright record for a north-to-south crossing of Europe by bike. The Canadian-born doctor rode from Tarifa, Spain, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":123671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basketball.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}