Intrepid cyclist Mark Beaumont heads round the world in 80 days by bike and banana

Scottish adventurer Mark Beaumont cycles his Koga bicycle in front of the Pyramids of Giza (Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert)

INCREDIBLE adventure cyclist Mark Beaumont departs on an epic Jules Verne cycle around the world today – fuelled by banana and Nutella wraps!

The great Scot is attempting to cycle around the world in less than 80 days in a gruelling adventure inspired by Jules Verne’s 1873 classic book.

The superhuman feat of endurance will see the 34-year-old spend upwards of 16 hours a day in the saddle to complete a daily target of cycling 240 miles.

But such strenuous exercise requires a significant amount of fuel – around 8000 calories a day.

And Mark’s secret ingredient? To aid his circumnavigation of the globe he is counting on calorific chocolate and banana wraps.

“I have a terribly sweet tooth, but thankfully I ride enough to hide the fact,” he laughed.

The Perth pedal pusher – who departed from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris at 4am this morning – will eat the equivalent of four to six eggs for every meal to fuel his journey.

With only four breaks a day he will have to drink smoothies and eat healthy snacks on the go.

“My favourite snack while cycling is chocolate, in the form of a tiffin or bar, but it’s important I keep these for treats and not too regularly,” he added.

“Sometimes I crave savoury, like a chicken and avocado wrap, and sometimes it’s something sweet, like a banana and Nutella wrap.

“Food is such a powerful mental pick-me-up.”

The 18,000 mile race is broken into four stages; starting with Paris to Beijing through Eastern Europe and Russia. Stage two sees the adventurer go from Perth in Australia to Auckland, New Zealand. He then heads to Alaska for stage three, where he’ll trek through to Nova Scotia in Canada. The final leg sees Mark ride from Lisbon back to Paris.

If he makes his goal of 240 miles a day, he should complete the muscle-aching feat in 75 days.

“This will be the toughest challenge of my life,” he added.

“It will be an immense physical, mental and logistical battle before I reach the finish line.”

In 2008, Mark made headlines around the world after he cycled around the world in 194 days.

He added: “This is my chance to shoot for the stars and take on the ultimate endurance cycling challenge.

“Since I last pedalled around the world nearly 10 years ago, there has been a growing desire in me to push the boundaries of what is possible and to retake the circumnavigation World Record at a whole new level.”