Swiss cyclist Adrien Liechti has completed a 17,280km cycle from Africa’s northernmost point to its southernmost in a mere 96 days. Liechti, 40, finished on April 9 after crossing 17 countries and climbing a total of 116,000m of elevation gain.
He started out at Cape Angela in Tunisia, Africa’s northernmost point, on January 3. ExplorersWeb last updated on Liechti’s progress when he had reached the Republic of Congo, after two weeks in military detention in Cameroon.
The Congo
Two weeks in jail would be enough to deter most endurance adventurers, but Liechti pressed on.
“The encounters I have along the way are what drive this journey,” he wrote on social media. “Even though this is a fully self-supported adventure, the truth is that without the people I meet on the road, none of this would be possible.”
It is unclear what he means by “self-supported,” since he presumably restocked along the way during those 96 days.
Liechti’s route across Africa.
On March 18, Liechti noted that he had been pushing hard, logging 12-hour days after crossing into the Republic of the Congo on March 12.
“The past few days have been unreal, riding from dense jungle with gorillas to wild, treeless green hills. I’ve never experienced landscapes like this before…absolutely breathtaking,” he wrote.
By March 22, Liechti had crossed the Congo River into Angola.
The Congo River in The Republic of Congo. Photo: Shutterstock
Angola and Namibia
Once in Angola, Liechti headed east toward the coast on tarmacked roads, where the heat had the Swiss speedster drinking 12 liters of water a day. “It really feels like the end of Central Africa. Petrol stations look Western, the tarmac is perfect, and the last two border crossings should (hopefully) be easier.”
A roadside pitstop in Angola. Photo: Adrien Liechti
By March 27, Liechti had already put down 14,000km of travel and was in Southern Angola.
“Angola surprised me a lot,” the endurance cyclist wrote. “It feels modern and Western. There is also a lot of potential for off-road riding. I really want to leave the asphalt and ride more dirt roads, but I need to stay focused on my goal.
“It’s not easy. Every afternoon, there is heavy rain. My feet are always wet, and it’s starting to cause problems. I try to dry them in the morning, but it’s difficult. In a few days, I should be out of the rainy season when I reach Namibia,” he added.
On the evening of March 29, Liechti crossed into northern Namibia, a country he had previously cycled in an off-road bikepacking race in 2022.
“This time will be different,” he wrote. “Mostly highways ahead, not the most beautiful, not the safest, but that’s part of the game.”
On the road in Namibia. Photo: Adrien Liechti
And things did turn out differently. Liechti didn’t seem to enjoy being on the bike, which is understandable after 90 days on the road. “Every day feels the same. I do the same things again and again, and I ride on roads that aren’t very interesting, even though I’m in amazing countries,” he lamented.
The final leg
Liechti reached the Tropic of Capricorn in Namibia in the first week of April, an imaginary line that circles the Earth at about 23.5° south of the equator. It marks the southernmost point where the sun can appear directly overhead at midday, which happens once each year at the December solstice.
Photo: Adrien Liechti
Things improved for Liechti as he pushed on through Namibia. Despite headwinds so strong that he had to pedal on the downhills, he passed mountains in the southern part of the country that buoyed his spirits. “The mountains here are stunning. These are landscapes I really appreciate, very mineral, with a blue sky,” he wrote.
Liechti provided no further public updates as he crossed from Namibia into South Africa on April 6, taking only three more days to cross the country before reaching Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point in Africa and the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
“Through deserts, mountains, jungles, borders, chaos, silence, and everything in between,” Liechti said on finishing. “This journey gave me a lot, and took a lot from me too. It will take time to process it all. This adventure was about more than just riding.”
