Germany's Fiona Kolbinger becomes first female winner of endurance race

Germany
# 06 August 2019 15:44 (UTC +04:00)

Germany's Fiona Kolbinger has beaten more than 200 men to become the first woman to win the Transcontinental Race, cycling more than 2,485 miles across Europe in just over 10 days, APA reports quoting BBC News.

The cancer researcher, 24, endured thunderstorms, scorching heat and icy rain in the solo race, which took her from Burgas, Bulgaria to Brest in north west France via five other countries.

After finishing in a time of 10 days, two hours and 48 minutes, Kolbinger says she could have "gone harder", adding: "I could have slept less."

Britain's Ben Davies is poised to take second place, but he is yet to cross the finish line. He was still 124 miles (200km) away when Kolbinger finished on Tuesday morning.

"I am so, so, surprised to win," said Kolbinger, who was one of 265 riders taking part, of which 40 were women. "When I was coming into the race I thought that maybe I could go for the women's podium, but I never thought I could win the whole race."

Transcontinental was launched in 2013, beginning in London and finishing in Istanbul, with Belgium's Kristof Allegaert winning the opening two events before Josh Ibett became the first British rider to win the endurance race in 2015.

Athletics

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