Sarah Hammond is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

ultra-endurance bicycle racer who in 2014 became the first woman to

Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at its ...

by riding the equivalent of the height of Mount Everest in a 24-hour period and has won the Race to the Rock for three consecutive years.

History

Hammond is from

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, where she was associated with a local cycling group known as Hells 500, the group that created the Everesting challenge. After her first Everest in 2014, she attracted the attention of ultra-endurance cyclist, Jesse Carlsson, who suggested her endurance would have indicated a proficiency in the sport. In 2016, she entered her first endurance race, the 7,000 kilometer

Trans Am Bike Race The Trans Am Bike Race (TABR) is an annual, self-supported, ultra-distance cycling race across the United States. The route is about long and uses the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail that was developed by the Adventure Cycling Association for the Bike ...

. She was the first woman to lead the race, and did so for over a week, before lost time due to a wrong turn left her in a sixth-place finish. A few months later, she won the inaugural Race to the Rock, a 3,000 kilometer ultra endurance race from

Adelaide, Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

(also known as

Ayers Rock Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Springs. Ul ...

). She was the only female participant, and was in the lead at

William Creek William Creek, in the Outback region of the Australian state of South Australia, is an isolated township with a population of fewer than 20. It is located about half-way along the Oodnadatta Track, north-west of Marree and east of Coober Ped ...

. When she became aware of the conditions ahead at

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta ...

, she continued through the night without sleep. Due to this effort, she managed to cross flooded roads and mud pits before they became completely impassable. Conditions continued to deteriorate, and Hammond was the only participant to complete the race. In 2017, once again the only female participant, she again won the race, being one of five cyclists to overcome the difficulties of the trail and complete the race. She won the race, billed by Carlsson as "the race so hard no man has ever won it", for the third consecutive year in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Sarah Living people Australian female cyclists Ultra-distance cyclists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)