At Viva Velo we are very proud of our ride leaders. We have been extremely lucky to recruit so many that have helped us grow into the company we are today. Being a strong cyclist is just a small part of what makes a great ride leader. Sharing our ethos of great customer service – always going the extra mile. . . sometimes literally! . . . is as, if not more, important. But when a ride leader excels as an athlete then we rightly love to celebrate their success too – especially when they are women!
As those of you who have read some of our previous blogs will know, our ride leader, Rhian Denton is an ironwoman of some repute and along with another of our excellent crew, Jules Cass, will be riding this year’s Tour de France route as ‘Internationelles’ having completed the route last year virtually.
Another woman who has helped us out in Mallorca is Ottilie Quince a multiple transplant world championship medal-winner and, although she has now moved on, Jessie Walker, who rode for Team GB in support of Lizzie Deignan’s 2015 World Championship victory proved a fantastic one-to-one coach for our clients.
Rhian Denton and Jules Cass - Viva Velo’s very own Internationelles
We love our male ride leaders too of course but in a sport where only 8% of participants are female we are sure they’ll forgive us for trumpeting the achievements of the women. Having said that and in the interest of balance, we are delighted to announce a new addition to the Viva Velo stable of ride leaders – Lukas Haitzmann.
Lukas is the Guinness World record holder as the youngest person to row across the Atlantic Ocean - or any ocean for that matter - solo and unassisted at just 18 years old. Additionally, Lukas’ triple nationality (Italian, Austrian, and British) led him to own the title as ‘the first Austrian to ever row across any ocean solo and unassisted.’
But let’s rewind a bit . . .
Lukas sets off on his epic Transatlantic crossing in his tiny 7m boat Cosimo
Thinking back to his school days, Lukas recalls the struggle he always felt with being dyslexic, striving to pass his school exams and survive the education system. A recurring theme throughout his schooling years was one of never quite being good enough in the classroom, and so sport played a huge part in him finding himself and building his self-esteem. Sport was an outlet that let Lukas excel and be himself, allowing him to shed the feeling of fighting a relentless battle. In his own words, “Sport gave me confidence! I learned to trust myself! Allowing me to take on bigger challenges, stretch myself, believing that I could figure out a solution one way or another. The best part, this trust in myself found its way into the classroom and the working world too.”
When asked, Lukas always tells the story of the first challenge he undertook, as the catalyst that set him off on his journey of adventures. It was a combined indoor rowing marathon with an endurance swim to be completed on the same day. Lukas was 15 years old, when he rowed on the indoor rowing ergo for a distance of 42.2 Km, followed by a 2.1 Km swim in support of Child Action Nepal following the Nepal earthquake in 2015.
Lukas’s introduction to cycling was an epic 800 kilometre round trip across the Alps from Austria to Croatia and back
That first taste of successfully completing an important challenge led Lukas, at 17 years old, to head out on a “little bike ride” whilst visiting his father in Austria. The “solo bike ride” took Lukas from the mountains in Austria to the Croatian coast. This bike ride covered almost 800 kilometres in five days - from Saalfelden in Austria, through Italy and Slovenia, to Croatia before the long ride back home, with a whopping total of 16 kilometres of ascent: a journey that might daunt a seasoned cyclist let alone a comparative novice riding his dad’s old bike that he had found in the garage! Never one to miss out raising much needed cash fro a charity, Lukas rode the challenge for the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity that supports teenagers during their fight against cancer.
The momentum kept building up. Lukas’ taste of adventure and wish to push his physical limits proliferated. In April 2018, Lukas ran the Virgin Money London Marathon supporting ToyBox charity in a time of 3.56 becoming one of the youngest people to complete the long-distance running event, at 18 years and two days old.
That summer saw Lukas qualify for the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta as part of his Oratory School eights crew: an accumulation of years of training and endless hours, both indoors, and outdoors on the River Thames and proof that Lukas has the elite sporting ability to compete on such a stage.
Lukas was an accomplished rower but Atlantic waves sometimes as high as a three storey building are a different ‘kettle of fish’ from the Thames at Henley!
It was also in 2018 that Lukas began looking for his next challenge . . . and this one had to be bigger and bolder than any of the others he had previously done. Googling ‘big adventure challenges’ he found what he was looking for. Lukas phoned his Italian mum, Maria:
“Hi mum, I am going to row across the Atlantic Ocean. Alone and unassisted!”]
This was followed by a long awkward silence when the phone went dead as his mum tried to absorb the shock of such news. Maybe his mum had fallen off her chair? A few minutes later Lukas’s mum called back:
“This challenge is truly scary from all perspectives but I will support you in whatever way I possibly can on one condition: you now ONLY focus on your A levels and we will talk about the solo crazy row on August 16th”.
Lukas’ mum had tried to buy herself some time; maybe the idea would go away. . .but it didn’t. After his A-levels, Lukas had only four months to prepare mentally and physically. This proved to be harder than expected, aside from the enormous life changing challenge ahead of him, he was faced with the addition of an enormous financial challenge, as sponsors were nowhere to be found. No one believed an 18 year old would really keep to his extraordinary goal. “Alone” in many more ways than just being in his little rowing boat “Cosimo” in the Atlantic Ocean.
Lukas celebrates completing his solo Atlantic row
So far I’m sure you’ll agree with me on two points. Firstly the support network Lukas’ mum, brother, Leonardo, and very special friends/family have provided him with is a fantastic show of love, belief, and genuine support. And secondly, Lukas has something inside of him that can inspire everyone around him to believe in their own inner strength, and to face all unforeseen challenges head on.
His mum and his younger brother Leonardo, with whom he lives in Windsor, have definitely been put through the wringer with the emotions that go along with having a son & sibling that dreams as big as Lukas. In his mum’s words describing the feeling of having her 18 years old son in the middle of the Atlantic completely on his own.
“In the few months of preparation for the row through to the day he set off on December 12th 2018, I never saw any hint of panic or re-thinking from him. I knew that Lukas would find a way to overcome foreseen and unforeseen challenges that would come up in the Ocean. I tried to be close to him. I would be looking at the nautical miles of the dot watch he had onboard every one or two hours day and night, relying on it to convey to me whether he was OK or not. I don’t recall sleeping much for those 59 days he was out there but I was at least safe at home. Lukas appeared to love swimming with the crowds of dolphins passing by his boat and I was scared sick that sharks would appear while Lukas was with the dolphins and something terrible would happen.
I never sensed Lukas was scared in the few minutes we had every 3-4 days on the sat phone and his New Year satellite message filled my heart with further strength but I also knew he would never show me if he was scared or ill or anything. . . as I learnt after the row - hearing the stories he told.
Thankfully Lukas survived the row, whilst Leonardo and I survived 59 days of heart rumbling nerves. I am a truly proud mum as I see how much the solo row has shaped my boy into a further responsible, focused, disciplined and fine young man”.
Lukas testing the sea bikes that the Pedal 4 Parks team will use to cross from Orkney to John O’Groats and Land’s End to the Isles of Scilly
Following the crest of the wave that the Atlantic crossing created, Lukas moved across the UK, to study for his Mechanical Engineering degree at Swansea University. But there is no surprise Lukas is not your standard university student and is in fact, currently planning his next adventure challenge as part of a team called ‘Pedal 4 Parks’. P4P aims to cycle the entire length of Britain raising awareness for National Parks and green spaces in the UK and the benefits these areas can have on mental health and wellbeing. Of course, as you might expect from Lukas, the team will be going one step further than the traditional John O'Groats to Lands End route. The team will begin on the Orkney Isles, completing a world first ‘sea-bike’ crossing to the UK mainland, before cycling through as many national parks and green spaces as possible on the way to Land’s End, before a second sea-bike leg finishing in the Isles of Scilly.
The Pedal 4 Parks team testing their ‘land legs’ in preparation for their epic Orkneys to Scilly Isles ride
Viva Velo has signed up to be an endorsement partner to the Pedal 4 Parks event and will be doing everything it can to help Lukas and the team raise money for their fantastic cause. As part of this association Lukas will join our Three Parks Tour in August as a guest ride leader.
Lukas aims to keep inspiring all young people across the UK and worldwide to find their passion, and to take on their own challenges and we are extremely proud to welcome him to the Viva Velo family and are sure you will agree that his story is an extraordinary one involving a willingness to achieve against all odds, to lead by example and to help other people along the way. Qualities that will make him an excellent ride leader.
Pedalling in the Park. Raising awareness of the mental and physical benefits of the UK’s National Parks and green spaces.