BRITISH ultra-endurance cyclist Mark Beaumont said he felt elation and "utter relief" after obliterating the record for travelling around the world on a bike.

The adventurer set off from France in July on a mission to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days and arrived back in Paris earlier this week on day 79 of the journey, 24 hours ahead of schedule.

His feat was given official verification by Guinness World Records, knocking 44 days - a third - off the previous record of 123 days.

Edinburgh-based Beaumont, 34, completed the epic 18,000-mile Artemis World Cycle challenge despite three serious falls off his bike and facing conditions such as fierce head winds, sub-zero temperatures and forest fire smog.

He put his success down to "grit, the ability to suffer" and declared: "This has been, without doubt, the most punishing challenge I have ever put my body and mind through."

On completing the expedition, he said: "I guess the biggest emotion is relief, utter relief. This has been years in the planning.

"Since I was a 12-year-old kid who pedalled across Scotland, the ambitions have got bigger over the last two decades.

"For me, this was the ultimate. So (I feel) relief, elation, it's just wonderful to see my beautiful wife and two daughters who have supported me brilliantly through this. I definitely owe them a bit of time now."

The record-breaking moment was aired on Facebook Live, with his official page saying: "Made it to the finish line in under #80days".

Inspired by Jules Verne's classic adventure novel Around The World In Eighty Days, Beaumont set off from under the Arc de Triomphe on July 2.

He travelled through 16 countries during his four-stage challenge, with the first stage seeing him travel through Europe to Russia and Mongolia, culminating in Beijing.

His attempt to reclaim the world record later took him across Australia, New Zealand and North America.

He then arrived back in Europe for a final push from Lisbon to Paris.

The long-distance athlete had to complete 240 miles a day - spending 16 hours in the saddle after less than five hours sleep per night - to stay on schedule.

Over the course of the 79 days, Beaumont faced numerous physical and mental challenges, including a fall in Russia on day nine, in which he broke a tooth and suffered a hairline fracture to his left elbow. He came off the bike again in New Zealand and just days ago in the Pyrenees.

"That really gave the team a fright because I was about four days from the finish and suddenly I was off," he said.

"I think it made everyone realise it's not over till it's over."

Beaumont cites Russia as the toughest country to traverse while the weather conditions in the southern hemisphere, Canada and the US proved challenging.

He said: "I got to Russia and it took 17 days across. It was really pretty industrial, hard riding.

"I found that mentally and physically pretty gruelling.

"New Zealand, whilst being absolutely beautiful, was in the depth of winter. Getting on the bike at 4am with ice on the jacket and quite nasty storms made that probably the most inclement part.

"There was massive forest fires in North Dakota which we were skirting.

"I rode a couple of days with that heavy smog. Then across the prairie spots there was incredible headwind with nowhere to hide out there.

"It's not so different to a sailing boat going around the world - the wind can make or break a record like this."