Lachlan Morton Smashes Record for Cycling Around Australia by 7 Days

Australian professional cyclist, Lachlan Morton, has just smashed the standing record for cycling around Australia by over a week!

32-year-old Morton completed ‘The Lap’, by riding 14,210km to circumnavigate Australia, in just 30 days, 9 hours, and 59 minutes. Morton originally set out to complete the route in 35 days. With an average daily distance of over 450km, Morton smashed the most recent record, set in 2011 by David Alley from Brisbane, which was 37 days, 20 hours, and 45 minutes.

Morton started and finished the ride, which saw him take on 44,000m of elevation, in his hometown of Port Macquarie, crossing the finish line at Tacking Point Lighthouse. He was accompanied by a support team of family and friends who travelled in a camper. As well as a new record attempt, for Morton, part of the journey was about reconnecting to his homeland and exploring parts of Australia he’d never visited before.

Along the way, he’s raised money for the Indigenous Literacy Fund of Australia, which donates books and learning resources to remote communities across Australia. By the time he crossed the finish line, Morton had raised over $120,000 for the fund. Donations are still welcome to reach the renewed goal of $150,000.

Some memorable moments of the tour included hitting a kangaroo (they were both fine!), near misses with traffic, snake and camel encounters, saving an injured galah, and his fair share of magpie attacks.

Morton currently competes with the American professional team EF Education–EasyPost, but has a particular passion for ultra-distance cycling. In 2014 he completed a 2500km ride from his hometown of Port Macquarie to Uluru with his brother Angus.

Photo by Karter Machen / EF Education–EasyPost

About the ‘Around Australia’ Record

The record-setting race to cycle around Australia, informally named ‘The Lap’, started in 1899 with Arthur Richardson. He set the record to become the first man to ride across the Nullabor in 1896, then set out on the 18,500km journey around Australia from Perth in June 1899. He finally made it back to Perth in February 1900, beating out other competing cyclists heading in the opposite direction.

Nowadays, there are a few simple rules for ‘The Lap’, maintained by the Road Record Association of Australia. Cyclists must pass through six of the following cities and towns across Australia: Adelaide, Brisbane, Broome, Darwin, Esperance, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. They can go in whichever direction they would like and choose their route, as long as it meets the minimum distance requirement of 14,200km.

In 2023, Queenslander Leah Ashford became the first woman to set the record for cycling around Australia solo, completing the 14,200km ride after 93 days.

Lachlan Morton’s planned route for his Around Australia record attempt | Photo by EF Education–EasyPost

Feature photo by Karter Machen / EF Education–EasyPost