Lachlan Morton’s Everesting record has been broken…by Alberto Contador

The Everesting records continue to tumble as Lachlan Morton has now lost his title after three weeks.

This time it’s retired Grand Tour legend Alberto Contador who has taken the record, proving he isn’t rusty even after three years away from the peloton.

Contador, now 37, has officially been crowned Everesting record holder with a time of seven hours, 27 minutes and 20 seconds – just two minutes faster than the record set by Morton in June.

The Spaniard completed the brutal climbing challenge on the 13 per cent slopes of Silla del Rey, a 0.9km-long climb north of Madrid in central Spain.

Opting for a shorter climb than most, Contador had to ride 78 laps to reach the required 8,848 metres of altitude gain.

He had to ride a relatively short 148km to complete the challenge, compared with Morton’s 159km.

Australian pro Morton (EF Pro Cycling) put in a staggering ride last month to officially claim the record, just a week after he failed an attempt due to faulty elevation data.

The 28-year-old rode the Rist Canyon climb in Colorado, a 1.6km, 11 per cent climb which sits at 2,200m above sea level.

But Morton has been forced to pass the title over to Contador, who has now officially been confirmed as the record holder by Hells 500, the organisation which oversees Everesting attempts.

This week also saw the women’s Everesting record fall, as British former pro Emma Pooley smashed the previous fastest time.

Pooley took on the 13 per cent average Haggenegg climb in Switzerland on Wednesday (July 8), completing 10 laps of the 6.7km-long climb to rack up the 8,848 metres.

The 37-year-old set a new fastest time to climb the high of Everest on a bike, with eight hours, 53 minutes and 36 seconds – beating the previous record set by Hannah Rhodes in June, nine hours and eight minutes.

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Everesting has become a hugely popular challenge in 2020, as both amateurs and professionals have been looking to keep themselves motivated with racing suspended due to coronavirus.