Anna Mei rode 537.6 km in 24 hours on a gravel bike at the Ippodromo del Savio in Cesena, setting a new women’s world best for the discipline. She beat the previous mark by more than 34 km.
The 59-year-old Italian, a Ravenna resident of Milanese origin, started at 10 a.m. on Saturday and stopped at 10 a.m. on Sunday after over 670 laps of the sand and dirt racetrack. Her average speed was 22.4 km/h on a surface that offers none of the smoothness of a velodrome.
Constant resistance on sand, not a velodrome
The Ippodromo del Savio track demanded continuous pushing effort for the full day.
Anna Mei passed 100 km in 3h 32’09”, 200 km in 7h 30’10”, and 300 km in 11h 42’42”. She reached 500 km in 22h 09’13” and kept going until the count stopped at 537.6 km.
A record held by a Spanish rider falls
The previous women’s reference stood at about 503 km, set in May 2025 by a 58-year-old Spanish cyclist. Anna Mei needed at least 502 km and 62 metres to break it, and she finished with 537 km and 600 metres.
The attempt was the first international ultracycling gravel challenge hosted at the Savio racetrack. Technicians, timekeepers, officials and volunteers worked behind the rider for the whole 24 hours, and the track remained open to the public until the finish, greeted with applause.
Anna Mei has a long history in endurance cycling, including a 2013 Guinness World Record of 738.865 km in 24 hours without drafting on an indoor track. This latest mark came in far different conditions, and she dedicated it to the “butterfly children”, a cause she has supported since 2009.
When the clock stopped, the rider from Ravenna had added another line to a career already full of world records.
