Draft:Maurice Mülder

Maurice Mülder (born March 21, 1988) is a Dutch-born German athlete known for his achievements in various sports disciplines, including swimming, triathlons, ultra-cycling, and endurance challenges. Mülder's journey in sports began during his youth, marked by a passion for athleticism.

Early Life and Athletic Beginnings

Growing up in Meckenheim-Merl, Germany, Mülder initially found his footing in football, playing for his hometown club. However, his trajectory shifted when he discovered his passion for swimming, propelling him towards a career as a high-performance swimmer. Throughout his teenage years, Mülder dedicated himself to training, leading to numerous top-10 finishes on the national level and participation in various international tournaments.

Military Career and Continued Athletic Pursuits

Following his high school education, Mülder enlisted in the German Armed Forces, where he served for 12 years. Alongside his military service, he pursued higher education, studying sports science at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich. Despite the demands of his military career, Mülder remained committed to his athletic pursuits.

Triathlons and Endurance Challenges

Mülder's foray into triathlons began at the age of 21 when he completed his first Ironman triathlon in Nice, France. However, his journey was not without setbacks, as a significant injury during training in the Naval Special Forces led to eight knee surgeries, impacting his naval career aspirations. Mülder embarked on a comeback, achieving three more Ironman finishes in subsequent years. Fuelled by an innate curiosity of human potential, Mülder expanded his athletic horizons, becoming a hybrid athlete. He ventured into marathon running, ultra-cycling, and tackled the Tough Guy Race in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.

Guinness World Record: Most countries visited by bicycle in seven days (male)

Mülder's insatiable thirst for challenges culminated in 2023 when he set a new Guinness World Record for most countries visited by bicycle in seven days (male) by cycling through 18 countries in just 7 days.

Most Countries Visited in 7 Days by Bicycle´, from 12^th to 18^th June 2023 Maurice set a new official Guiness World Record by cycling 2.400 kilometers starting in Vaals, Netherlands and finishing in Bregovo, Bulgaria. So far this was Maurice’s biggest sportive challenge lasting not only one day but a whole week. As you can imagine his World Record tour wasn´t about surfing a perfect wave from start to finish. It is a story about extreme mental as well as physical ups and downs, detailed preparations and still nearly devastating mistakes, and like always about great teamwork.

Day 1 | 359 Kilometers | 4.099 Altitude Meters

First of 18 countries: The Netherlands.

Shortly after 4 o´clock a loud echoing horn marked the start of the Challenge in Vaals, Netherlands. Leaving the Netherlands after a few meters and crossing the border to Belgium Maurice rolled on his bike into the still dark night. The first hours of his world record attempt went smooth, concentration was high. The focus of day one was on not overpacing and getting used to the rhythm of regularly fueling.  

At noon, around 200 kilometers in the books, sun was showing its full force, making Maurice’s riding through some steep hills in Luxemburg intense. Not caring of this burden, he kept going finishing the day exhausted in the late evening in Kehl, Germany with 5 countries and 359 Kilometers covered. 

Day 2 | 309 Kilometers | 4.221 Altitude Meters

Never done a multi-day challenge bevor the question mark of the second day was how Maurice would feel with this preload. Ignoring every sign of exhaustion, he of course stepped back on his bike after only 2h30 of restless sleep.  

Crossing to Austria on Day 2.

Astonished on how well it went more kilometers and countries were collected. Even two bike defects in Switzerland didn´t worry to much. But lessons were learned later that day. The messed-up time schedule brought Maurice into big trouble reaching the Arlberg Pass, Austria in total dark. The pass road of the mountain was even closed for cyclists and Maurice´s support team took the decision that it is too dangerous and no option to share the serpentines with multiple trucks. Day two was over on the foot of Arlberg Pass – with 50 kilometers behind schedule and a long steep challenge still to come. 

Day 3 | 305 Kilometers | 3.611 Altitude Meters

The third day started with an emergency solution. According to the rules, the entire route needed to be done by bike, if necessary, the bike needed to be pushed or carried at points (stairs, very steep parts, etc.). Therefore, Maurice climbed and hiked the entire Pass by trail carrying his bike losing lots of time but still making progress.  

In addition, he feld very week for the first time. Nutrition and with it recovery didn´t work out. Mood was at the lowest point and still Bulgaria far away.  

With breaking down the daily schedule into small thinking goals and mental stages giving up was no option. Espacially Teamwork went out properly and Maurice got over not only Alperg Pass but also the long and steep Brenner Pass reaching Italy.  

Another 15 hours in the saddle on a very tough day – but – Maurice was still in the game. 

Day 4 | 340 Kilometers | 4.804 Altitude Meters

“As close to Vienna, Austria as possible”, the goal was clearer than the previous day and emotions got positive at the start of day 4. Knowing that he was around 100 kilometers behind schedule making distance progress was crucial. But mindset was tested again.

Reaching out for Czechia he conquered endless up and down passages resulting in incredible 4.800 altitude meters. Legs got empty. Time was running. Only after 11 at night Maurice stepped of the bike with immense physical investment but no shortening of the mileage backlog. 

Day 5 | 356 Kilometers | 1.521 Altitude Meters

Reaching Hungary on Day 5.

With three days left Maurice and the team needed to adjust the strategy: To have even more time on the bike, fewer breaks were made. Therefore, he ate more while riding. The new strategy resulted in sections between 80 and 130 kilometers before stepping of the bike for a few minutes.

Also luck was on his side with the first tailwind of the whole tour. Sweet! With an average pace of 25 kilometers per hour he crossed borders with Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia finishing in Croatia after 350 kilometers. 

Day 6 | 390 Kilometers | 1.269 Altitude Meters

Endless straight roads until the horizon made day 6 another mental game. Monotone roads gave his mind a lot of opportunities to present itself with questioning thoughts. But tunnel vision was on and the team had organized some motivating phone calls from friends and family. Pushing hard with incredible 390 kilometers in the books, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina reached Maurice brought himself into a confident situation for the final stage.  

But the unpredictable fate striked again. Border crossing changed into time waster, road conditions got challenging. In numerous situations Maurice faced stray dogs attacking him. Another stray dog sprint with pretty sore muscles led into an injured calf which elevated his immense respect for the last day to come. 

Day 7 | 343 Kilometers | 2.688 Altitude Meters

Maurice Mülder stops the timer after reaching the 18th country: Bulgaria.

Planning is for only making 2 mistakes out of 10. The final stage started with communication problems with the supporting team. Leaving the European Union cycling through Serbia we now had no more mobile connection. Rookie mistake! Tracking, discussing meeting points, food preparations – communication was crucial and the team finally fixed it.  

Be warned by this start mindset was in the right place and nothing couldn´t bother Maurice anymore – no flooded roads, none of the multiple dark tunnels along the Danube.  

Flow set in and the conquer of final boss, a steep 14k mountain, around 4 hours prior to the last boarder was nearly celebrated like a win.  

It was getting dark. Patrols at the Romanian boarder again took some time of the watch. But no matter – Bulgaria was within reach. Motivation was on a maximum level and Maurice couldn´t feel physical pain anymore. In total dark, after 161 hours of total exhaustion, Maurice set a new World Record with crossing his 18^th border within 7 days by bicycle. 

Professional Career and Beyond

Next to his athletic pursuits, Mülder holds a Master's degree in Sports Science and currently serves as a Strength and Conditioning Coach at Bayer 04 Leverkusen.