The cycling marathon in Luxembourg has crossed the equator

The Luxexpo exhibition centre hosted the seventeenth annual stationary bike marathon, organised by the Luxembourg Transplant Association. Around 300 exercise bikes were used by more than 1,500 participants. They came together with the aim of setting a new Guinness World Record for the longest distance cycled collectively indoors in eight hours, as well as to encourage public discussion about organ donation.

The official minimum distance required for the record to be recognised was 15,000 kilometres. However, the organisers had initially set themselves a more ambitious target — to cover 40,000 kilometres, which roughly corresponds to the circumference of the Earth at the equator. After the race finished at 18:30, the final calculations, certified by the Guinness World Records adjudicator present at the event, recorded a distance of 44,614 kilometres, which significantly exceeded both the minimum requirements and the marathon’s own target.

However, despite the sporting achievements, the fundamental aim of the event, held to mark World Organ Donation Day on 17 October, remained to raise public awareness. The demand for donor organs in Luxembourg remains high: there are currently around 100 people awaiting a transplant. According to last year’s statistics, 154 patients were in need of donor organs, whilst 43 residents were able to receive the necessary treatment thanks to international medical networks.