Frenchman Aurélien Fontenoy set a record after cycling up the 686 steps of the Eiffel Tower in just 12 minutes and 30 seconds.
The cyclist decided to ride his bike up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower, earning him a world record for the feat completed last Friday (3rd).
In 2002, Hugues Richard reached the second floor of the Eiffel Tower in 19 minutes and four seconds. Fontenoy thus beat the previous record holder by almost seven minutes.
“For this challenge, I squeeze the brake and only need to compress my tire because I don’t have suspension or anything, it’s just a rigid bike. So I just squeeze the brake and jump, jump, jump a lot!” he told CNN Sports.
He prepared extensively for the final challenge, spending hours in the gym and training jumps with a rope to achieve this impressive feat.
This is not Fontenoy’s first challenge. Previously, he also conquered other buildings in Paris, as well as the TV Tower in Tallinn, Estonia.
“I started four years ago at Tour Trinity and was supposed to go to the Eiffel Tower next. But then came Covid-19, then the Olympics, then construction and painting [of the tower]. So it was a lot of work to organize everything,” he explained.
“We only had one chance. The last record was in 2002 and we needed 20 years to create a new challenge here because organizing it is very demanding. So I said I didn’t want to lose. So yes, it was a bit stressful.”
Fortunately, the stress of organizing paid off. “When I reached [the finish line], I was wrecked because it’s 12 minutes, 100% effort for 12 minutes. But I was super happy,” he added.
Fontenoy, who retired as a professional mountain biker five years ago, is successful on his TikTok profile, where he has more than 1 million followers.
He also took advantage of the exciting moment to create content. “My idea was to create more content and attract a bigger audience. And it was also a good idea to show what the sport is and do something crazy that hasn’t been done in the sport yet.”
And even with this recent achievement, Fontenoy is not satisfied yet. “My plan is to climb the tallest towers. So I’m already in contact with other towers around the world. The ultimate goal will be to climb the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world.”
Photo and video: TikTok @aurelienfontenoy. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
@aurelienfontenoy j’ai battu le record du monde de l ascension de la Tour Eiffel à vtt !!!! 686 marches pour grimper les 2 étages en 12min30s. (ancien record 19min). #vtt #record #recorddumonde #tiktok #velo ♬ son original – Aurelien Fontenoy
