Toronto\u2019s Jack Burke made history Saturday, becoming the first men\u2019s world champion at the inaugural event in Sicily<\/p>\n
Although it\u2019s not officially sanctioned as a championship by the UCI, the Full Everesting<\/a> event is brutal. Riders climb 8,848 m\u2014the height of Mount Everest\u2014by tackling seven ascents from the town of Linguaglossa. They covered 277 km in total. Burke finished in 7 hours and 30 minutes.<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s Illi Gardner, the current Everesting world record holder, claimed the first women\u2019s world title, crossing the line in 8 hours, 28 minutes, 40 seconds.<\/p>\n Burke\u2019s career has been a roller coaster, to say the least. As a junior, he faced a doping allegation after winning Stage 3 of the Tour de l\u2019Abitibi.<\/a> He was later cleared of that and turned pro. He had some big results\u2014including winning the infamous Mont M\u00e9gantic stage of the Tour de Beauce.<\/p>\n Jack Burke is still innocent, but\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n However, his career was derailed after being hit by a driver. He has since focused on ultra-endurance racing, and Saturday\u2019s result adds a major milestone to that journey. Burke currently resides in Austria and made headlines in late 2024 when he took several Strava KOMs from seasoned pros on famous climbs.<\/p>\n He dethroned Tour de France and Giro d\u2019Italia champion Vincenzo Nibali on Italy\u2019s Mortirolo, beating the Italian\u2019s record by a full minute. He followed that up on Alpe d\u2019Huez, claiming the KOM from 2023 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a winner Sepp Kuss on Nov. 11. In late 2024, he said he had been in touch with WorldTour teams<\/a>, but nothing seems to have materialized, unfortunately.<\/p>\n