Coldest bicycle race in the world

Coldest bicycle race in the world held at -45°C where bikes FROZE

The Yakutsk weather is a little worse than the winter the UK has seen so far, with the riders taking to wearing fur and camel wool

For those of us complaining about getting on our bikes in the British winter, a sobering tale of riding comes from Russia.

Commonly known as the world's coldest city, Yakutsk, in the Sakha Republic, has hosted what must be the chilliest bike race on the planet, with temperatures plummeting to -45°C.

Although some of the cyclists at the Cycling Federation of Yakutia event found that their vehicles froze before the race began, 14 participants set off in thick fog, decked out in balaclavas, gloves and scarves, reports The Siberian Times .

Yakutsk's population is almost 300,000 and its average winter temperature is -34°C .

The male winner of the race, Andrei Popov, completed the 10 kilometre distance in 30 minutes 44 seconds, while the women's winner, who tackled 5km, was Nelly Pakhomova in 29 minutes 51 seconds.

Rex

Stone cold: One of the racers said her bicycle froze, and it was hard to cycle

Nelly said: "The bicycle race turned out to be such a challenge. My bicycle froze, and it was hard to cycle. It was very extreme, thanks to organisers."

Andrei added: "You need to dress up so that you don't freeze, because it's easy to turn into a piece of ice in such cold."