Blazing pedals

A Brazilian biker, inspired by an urge to quit smoking, prepares to smash a long-held world tour record on Chinese territory. Matt Hodges reports from Shanghai.

Former car mechanic Denizart Simoes has been cycling across 50 nations for the past 14 years, from the southern tip of Patagonia, where South America meets the Antarctic, to Egypt. The Brazilian plans to set a new Guinness World Record next month on Chinese territory with the aim to break German traveler Heinze Stucke's cycling record of 400,000 kilometers, set in 1995. It took Stucke two decades to achieve the milestone.

"Chinese people don't understand why I do it. Of course I'm trying to beat Stucke's record. He was my hero, when I was far away from him, but not so much anymore. But the main reason was to stop smoking," says Simoes. "I'd also split with my woman, so that was another reason."