Michaël Duyck is definitely one of the most active Strava users of 2020. With a total of 866 rides, a distance of 48,693 km and 1491 hours in the saddle, the Belgian cyclist could have cycled around the world. All these rides included 398,854 m of climbing. No wonder that Duyck took fourth place in Strava’s so-called “Top 200 Strava Riders for Total Distance.”
It wasn’t just last year that Duyck spent so much time on his bike. His Strava account reports a total of 327,854 km of cycling since he started using the platform. His longest ride was 353.5 km long.
“I always liked sports,” Duyck told Wielerverhaal.com. “I was about 15 or 16 years old when I started cycling. For the past few years I really enjoyed riding my bike, but really I’m just a passionate amateur. Cycling makes me feel great, and it gives me a sense of freedom. It also makes me feel more relaxed, which I would have never expected.”
To gain a fourth place in Strava’s totals, you need to spend a lot of time in the saddle. “Since I’m not married, and I don’t have kids, I have a lot of time to ride my bike”, Ducyk explains.
Duyck drastically increased his mileage in 2020. In 2019 he rode over 36,000 km, compared to 48,000 km in 2020. It doesn’t seem like he plans on taking it easy in 2021. He covered 3,500 km in the first month of this year.
“In 2020 many events were cancelled due to the coronavirus, so I set myself a goal of riding 40,000 km in one year, the circumference of the earth. Eventually I ended up riding 48,000 km, which comes down to 130 km a day for the year. Given the current situation, it’s hard to plan on a new goal for the future.”
