A Scottish cyclist has broken another record after completing a loop of the North Coast 500 route in 28 hours and 35 minutes.
Mark Beaumont set a new benchmark for the route, adding another record-breaking ride to his repertoire.
In 2017, the Scot completed an 18,000-mile (29,000 km) around the world in less than 79 days which earned him the Guinness World Record (GWR) for fastest circumnavigation of the globe by bicycle.
After setting off on the popular Scottish tour at 8am on Saturday from Inverness Castle, the cyclist crossed the finish line after 12.30pm the following day.
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It means he beat a time set Robbie Mitchell just last year by around half an hour.
However, Mr Beumont's time is still subject to verification from the World Ultra Cycling Association.
Done! Thanks everyone! @Argon18bike @RideShimano @NorthCoast500 @gcntweet @HuntBikeWheels @nopinz pic.twitter.com/EEG2e9yMjO
— Mark Beaumont (@MrMarkBeaumont) September 25, 2022
"Back where we started," he said at the finish. "That was a lot quicker than seven years ago.
"Stunning route, but that was absolutely brutal. I rode six hours on, and just like five minutes off.
"It was an amazing team effort, thanks everyone for supporting me."
He added that it was a "tough" ride, which only saw him pause for 16 minutes overall.
The 'record-breaking' loop of the 516-mile route also saw him build on his previous attempts.
He was the first cyclist to set a time for riding the North Coast 500 on his own in 2015. Seven years later he has shaved off almost ten hours from his initial attempt.
It comes despite high winds and rain, which did not stop him from maintaining an average speed of around 18.2mph.
The journey was filmed by the Global Cycling Network for a GCN+ documentary, which is set to be released by the end of the year.
In an interview with the Herald, Mr Beaumont labelled his around-the-globe trip as his "Everest".
He completed the 2017 trip across the globe in 78 days, 14 hours and 40 minutes.
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