By Guy Faulconbridge and Anton Kolodyazhnyy
A Russian court freed a French long-distance cyclist on Thursday after finding him guilty of illegally crossing the country’s border with China while trying to break the world record for cycling across the Eurasian landmass.
Sofiane Sehili, a French citizen who describes himself as an “ultra-endurance racer and adventure cyclist”, was freed by the court in Russia’s Far Eastern district and exempted from paying a 50,000-rouble ($615) fine, a court in Primorye said.
The court said Sehili had admitted his guilt. He was seen standing in a cage in the courtroom wearing his cycling shoes.
“Sofiane Sehili was released from custody in the courtroom,” the court said.
“The physical evidence in the case: a foreign passport, a copy of an electronic visa, an e-book, two mobile phones, a video camera, a navigator and a bicycle have been returned to their rightful owner,” it said.
Sehili’s posts on social media showed that he was cycling from China to Russia in early September. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Russian media reported that Sehili was detained in the Far Eastern district of Primorye in early September and was accused of crossing the border illegally.
Sehili began his odyssey on July 1 near Lisbon – often cycling more than 300 km (190 miles) a day – while passing through Turkey, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China and finally Russia. He intended to finish in the Russian Far Eastern port of Vladivostok.
He was trying to beat the current record for cycling across Eurasia, held by Jonas Deichmann from Germany, who did the vast journey in 64 days, 2 hours and 26 minutes, according to the Guinness World Records.
His lawyer was quoted by state-owned news agency RIA as saying the cyclist had been satisfied while in detention, though he complained of unusual food and a lack of regular showers.
According to BikePacking, a resource for all-terrain cycling and backpacking, Sehili left his job as a freelance journalist writing reviews because he no longer got a kick out of it and became a messenger and then a long-distance racer.
“I’m going to ride until I can’t,” BikePacking, quoted him as saying. “Until there is an ocean in front of me.”
“I am going to meet hundreds of people and despite not understanding their languages, I know there will be great encounters; it is an adventure before anything else.”
Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Anton Kolodyazhnyy; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus.
Source: reuters.com