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On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, Louis Defaut, a cyclist from Lille, won the 8th edition of the BikingMan Corsica, a 1,000 km ultra-cycling race with 19,000 meters of positive elevation gain, in total autonomy. He crossed the finish line in Biguglia in 45 hours and 23 minutes, more than 5 hours ahead of his closest competitor and improving the best time from the previous edition, set by Rémi Borrion, by more than 2 hours.
Photos: DR
During the event, Louis Defaut traversed emblematic locations such as Cap Corse, the calanques de Piana, and the aiguilles de Bavella, while climbing the Corsican passes of Battaglia and Vergio.
Aged 28, a product engineer and performance manager at Van Rysel, he achieved this feat solo, sleeping only 25 minutes in total, divided into micro-naps of 4 to 5 minutes. Notably, he used a bicycle he designed himself.
A cyclist since the age of 7, Louis Defaut started in BMX before turning to road cycling. His discovery of ultra-cycling came during a first participation in the BikingMan as a duo, in a spirit of discovery. A significant encounter with Gautier Paulin, BMX world champion, during a later edition, pushed him to aim for performance, finishing 4th and realizing his potential.
In 2025, after intensive preparation that began in January, with more than 5,200 km covered on routes like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, Louis Defaut took on this challenge in performance mode, combining endurance, strategy, and technical innovation.
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