A French ultra-endurance cyclist attempting to break the world record for the fastest crossing of Eurasia by bicycle has reportedly been arrested in Russia accused of an illegal border crossing.
Sofiane Sehili described it as “heartbreaking” last week when his final 400km stretch to Vladivostok, the Russian port city on the far eastern Pacific tip of Asia, was halted by border officials at the China-Russia crossing.
Then, in a dramatic twist, several days later on Friday, French newspaper Le Monde reported Sehili — a former winner of the Silk Road Mountain Race, Tour Divide and Atlas Mountain Race — reported he had been arrested and accused of illegally crossing the border.
The exact circumstances of Sehili’s arrest remain somewhat murky, Le Monde reporting he was arrested in Vladivostok after “completing his plan to break the world record”, while other reports have suggested the arrest was at or near the border.
The most recent and detailed account, in L’Equipe, suggests the 44-year-old is in pre-trial detention in Russia and French government officials are now working to assist him. It also states he was arrested near the Russian border having crossed through some woods after being denied entry.
 L’Equipe says it was able to verify its information with Sehili’s partner. Having been halted by border officials at one China-Russia crossing he rode 200km to another crossing but was denied access there too.
“I’m the main attraction, the only foreigner,” Sehili told his Instagram followers. “The police inspect my bike, look at me, and don’t say anything. I don’t know if I’ll be able to cross the border. Failing so close to the goal is heartbreaking. Now I have ten months to decide if I want to go for this record again… or if it will remain a failure forever.”
With 33 hours left to get to Vladivostok to break the record, L’Equipe reports Sehili was informed that only crossing by a 20km train journey would be authorized, something which would obviously rule his two-month-long attempt void.
“There, it’s really a no man’s land that you can only cross by train,” his partner Fanny Bensussan told the newspaper.
He then apprently crossed the border through some nearby woods and presented himself at the rail customs on the Russian side, where he was arrested.
“He recognises it but he hasn’t taken the measure of the situation,” Bensussan continued.
Sehili had documented his Eurasia-crossing epic on Instagram, uploading daily videos and a dot-watching page for fans to follow online. However, both abruptly stopped, his final video showing him riding closer to the Russian border in pursuit of the record of Jonas Deichmann who rode from Lisbon to Vladivostok in 2017 in 64 days, two hours and 25 minutes.
Following a similar route between the two cities, including stretches through Mongolia and Tajikistan, Sehili’s final Instagram video shows him nearing the end of his journey, the ultra-endurance rider’s most recent post, from six days ago, now featuring numerous comments from concerned fans and friends.