Former Stawell cyclist, Joel Nicholson has won one of Australia's premier endurance cycling events the Delirium-24 Hour Cycle Race for the second year in a row.
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Held each year at Cowaramup, 12 kilometres north of Margaret River, the Delirium is a 24-hour road cycling event open to solo riders and teams.
The winner is the rider who covers the most circuit distance in 24-hours.
This year Joel completed 765.9 kilometres in 22.5 hours, averaging a speed of 33.8 kilometres per hour.
The race that attracted 52 solo riders, was delayed for an hour and a half due to the tragic death of a rider who suffered an aneurysm.
In second place was Jamie Freedman from Perth.
He covered 677.1 kilometres over the course of time.
Race organizer Brendon Morrison said to his knowledge, the world record for 24-hours of non-stop cycling was 834 kilometres.
"Considering that Joel only rode for 22.5 hours in this event and rode 765.9 kilometres, I think that we can safely say that this is one of the all-time great feats of cycling endurance," said Mr Morrison.
Nicholson, 27, started his passion for cycling as a member of the Stawell-Great Western Cycling Club.
His interest in long distance cycling was sparked in 2011 when he rode unaided across Mongolia.
Since then, he has competed in a myriad of climbing and endurance events like the 'Audax Sydney to Melbourne', 'Audax Great Southern Randonnee', the 3 Peaks Challenge and a non-stop, 93 hour, 1280 kilometre attempt at the 7 Peaks - The Alpine Ascent Challenge.
"One of the things I love most about cycling is that it is very much about getting back what you put in," said Mr Nicholson.
"Every kilometre that you ride, every hill that you climb makes you that little bit stronger and fitter.
"On the day of a big event, like Delirium, those hundreds of hours of training will hopefully pay-off."
The 2013 Delirium was Joel's first attempt at a gruelling 24-hour race. He won the event after covering 743 kilometres.
At both events he has been supported by his mother Alison Nicholson and grand-father and former champion cyclist Leon Gibson.
"Last year's event was an extremely steep learning curve," he said.
Joel currently lives in Melbourne where he is a Microbiologist in the water industry.
