Hall goes solo on global cycling record attempt

Endurance rider Mike Hall has announced that this coming February he will take on a Guinness World Record attempt for fastest bicycling circumnavigation of the earth. The record attempt which will begin in London with a short tour of the city's most famous landmarks was originally planned to part of the "Global Bicycle Race" but Hall now plans to go solo with his attempt.

"I was excited when I first learned of the Global Bicycle Race but after discussions with my sponsors, we have decided that it is best to focus our efforts on my attempt."

Hall, who competed in this year's 2,700-mile Tour Divide and who is a winner of two 24-hour solo titles, will tackle the 18,000-mile challenge around the planet as an individual. However, he says that he will still be racing and will be leaving his job early to focus on his training and final preparations such as launching the website that will follow his attempt.

"There is still a world record up for grabs and multiple attempts going off at the same time so effectively there's no difference. We just decided it was too close to February now to be distracted as many details of the race have yet to be confirmed. I want to show full commitment to my sponsors who are kindly supporting me with significant financial backing for this endeavour. I wish the organisers well with their race plans. It was a great idea."

Hall plans to announce his sponsors and more details of his attempt in the next few weeks. "The guys who are supporting me have been great through all this, I'm itching to tell everyone once the paperwork is all sorted. I also have some great friends in the mountain biking community who have agreed to help out, I'm really lucky"

Additionally as Director and Owner of Velometrics, an engineering consultancy company, Hall is offering to pay the fee for fast-track processing of the Guinness World Record for any successful attempt on the record within the course of his ride.

"Some money is ear-marked for fast-track processing in the event I am eligible for the record, but if I'm not, and someone beats me to it; Velometrics is prepared to do that for them too. With many people launching attempts at the same time, there may be quite a following, and I don't think anyone will wait around for months and months for the official results."

Follow Hall's preparations at www.normallyaspiratedhuman.com.

For more information on the Global Bicycle Race, visit www.greatbikeride.com/globalbicyclerace.