Jack Thompson (born 1988) is an Australian cyclist who made a world record of riding most kilometres unsupported in a week. He documents his challenges in the form of documentary films. Thompson is based in Girona, Spain. [1] [2]
Having grown up in Perth, Thompson started cycling when he was a teenager. [3] [4] [5] [6] He attended and graduated from Scotch College in Perth, Western Australia and later on got his Bachelor's degree from Curtin University. [7]
Instead of pursuing a career in professional cycling, Thompson started riding long miles in remote locations to build up his endurance for ultra-cycling. [8] [9] He began ultra-cycling in 2016 when he completed the fourth edition of the Transcontinental Race in Europe finishing number 30 in the race. The very next year he completed a Himalayan Expedition from Chengdu to Northern Laos completing 1829km at a 90000m elevation. [10]
In 2019, Thompson completed The Grand Tours Everesting Project. [11] The locations for this expedition were Passo Stelvio in Italy, Col de la Bonette in France and Port d’Envalira in Andorra. [12] [13]
Thompson set the Guinness World Record for most kilometers ridden unsupported in a week in 2020. [14] [15] He rode 3,505 km and total of 113 hours in Valencia, Spain within seven days. [16] [17] [18]
In 2021, Thompson completed his own versions of the Tour de France. [19] [20] He waited for the official race to begin and after giving the tournament cyclists a head start, he tried to catch up with them. The goal was to reach Paris before them. He began his ride on 5 July, which was 10 days after the Tour de France had officially begun. [21] [22] On 12 July, Jack was able to overtake the peloton, and then went on to arrive in Paris three days before the official race arrived. [23] [24] His journey was covered in a documentary called "The Amazing Chase" [25]
In 2022, Thompson began a new everesting expedition with a goal of climbing 1,000,000 meters of elevation (3,280,840 feet) on his bicycle and raising 1,000,000 Euro for four mental health charities. [26] He reached the 1 million mark after 261 active days of cycling, completing one everesting per week. [27] [28] Thompson completed 52 everestings during this expedition, setting a world record of most everestings done in a single calendar year and a record of most elevation ridden on a bicycle in a year. [29] The previous record was of 42 everestings held by Lachlan Morton. Thompson covered a total distance of 1,004,336 meters during this expedition. [30]
Jack Thompson (born 1988) is an Australian cyclist who made a world record of riding most kilometres unsupported in a week. He documents his challenges in the form of documentary films. Thompson is based in Girona, Spain. [1] [2]
Having grown up in Perth, Thompson started cycling when he was a teenager. [3] [4] [5] [6] He attended and graduated from Scotch College in Perth, Western Australia and later on got his Bachelor's degree from Curtin University. [7]
Instead of pursuing a career in professional cycling, Thompson started riding long miles in remote locations to build up his endurance for ultra-cycling. [8] [9] He began ultra-cycling in 2016 when he completed the fourth edition of the Transcontinental Race in Europe finishing number 30 in the race. The very next year he completed a Himalayan Expedition from Chengdu to Northern Laos completing 1829km at a 90000m elevation. [10]
In 2019, Thompson completed The Grand Tours Everesting Project. [11] The locations for this expedition were Passo Stelvio in Italy, Col de la Bonette in France and Port d’Envalira in Andorra. [12] [13]
Thompson set the Guinness World Record for most kilometers ridden unsupported in a week in 2020. [14] [15] He rode 3,505 km and total of 113 hours in Valencia, Spain within seven days. [16] [17] [18]
In 2021, Thompson completed his own versions of the Tour de France. [19] [20] He waited for the official race to begin and after giving the tournament cyclists a head start, he tried to catch up with them. The goal was to reach Paris before them. He began his ride on 5 July, which was 10 days after the Tour de France had officially begun. [21] [22] On 12 July, Jack was able to overtake the peloton, and then went on to arrive in Paris three days before the official race arrived. [23] [24] His journey was covered in a documentary called "The Amazing Chase" [25]
In 2022, Thompson began a new everesting expedition with a goal of climbing 1,000,000 meters of elevation (3,280,840 feet) on his bicycle and raising 1,000,000 Euro for four mental health charities. [26] He reached the 1 million mark after 261 active days of cycling, completing one everesting per week. [27] [28] Thompson completed 52 everestings during this expedition, setting a world record of most everestings done in a single calendar year and a record of most elevation ridden on a bicycle in a year. [29] The previous record was of 42 everestings held by Lachlan Morton. Thompson covered a total distance of 1,004,336 meters during this expedition. [30]