American cyclist Lael Wilcox shaved more than two weeks off the women's round-the-world record, completing more than 18,000 miles (28,968 km) in 108 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes, according to a post on her social media.

The experienced ultra-distance racer, who holds the women's record in the Tour Divide and Trans-Am, left Chicago on May 26 and returned to her starting point on Wednesday evening, finishing before a welcoming crowd at the Buckingham Fountain.

“I feel like I'm flying as the finish line approaches,” Wilcox said in a podcast update yesterday.

While the tracking page lists Wilcox's total distance as 18,865 miles, with an average daily distance of 174 miles, with travel time and time off the bike split relatively evenly, Instagram lists Wilcox's distance as 18,125 miles, elevation gained as 630,. 000 feet (192,024 meters).

The effort, which took her across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, shaved nearly 16 days off the world record for the fastest lap by bicycle, set by Scottish endurance rider Jenny Graham in 2018 at 124 days, 10 hours, and 50 minutes. Graham, who started and finished in Berlin, had also shaved 20 days off her previous best time when she set the record.

The first female record under the Guinness rules was set in 2012 by Juliana Buehring, who, despite having little cycling experience at the time, threw herself into the challenge and completed the lap in an astounding 152 days.

The current men's record holder is Mark Beaumont, with a time of 78 days, 14 hours, and 40 minutes set in 2017. Lachlan Morton (EF Education-EasyPost) is currently chasing the record for the fastest supported time around Australia, and in recent years has expressed interest in a possible round-the-world attempt, with one obstacle being concerns about riding through Russia.

Starting in Chicago and taking off from the U.S. in New York, Wilcox chose a route through Europe, starting in Portugal, heading to the Netherlands, through Turkey to Georgia, and leaving the continent in Portugal.

He then took a route to Perth, across the Narraber Plains from Western Australia, up the eastern interior, and through New Zealand from Brisbane. Wilcox then flew to Anchorage, Alaska, down to Canada, and then to Los Angeles before heading inland and ending his journey in Chicago.

The rules for a round-the-world record require that the journey be continuous in one direction, that the minimum distance be 18,000 miles, and that it include two antipodal points.