Briton becomes first to cycle to South Pole

A British adventurer has achieved a world first after becoming the first person to cycle to the South Pole from the edge of the continent in just 10 days.

Maria Leijerstam, from the Vale of Glamorgan, managed the feat following a gruelling 805km ride in “vicious” conditions.

The 35-year-old set off from the Novo Russian air force base on Dec 16 and went head to head against two other riders, American Daniel Burton and Spaniard Juan Menendez Granados.

Her team said the sweat on the inside of Leijerstam’s boots froze and for 10 days she heated her freeze-dried food by melting snow on a small stove inside her tent.

Snow drifts, complete whiteouts, and crevasses marred her journey too.

However, the former management consultant pedalled her way into the records on a customised recumbent PolarCycle.

Leijerstam’s mother Adrianne said her daughter’s success was due to “meticulous planning, super fitness, and pure determination”.

“From the time she was 12 years old and announced she wanted to be an astronaut, Maria has always been an adventurer,” she said,

“We are thrilled she has made it in such good time.”

Leijerstam, who previously took part in the Marathon des Sables seven-day run across the Sahara, said she had to entirely retrain her metabolism for the Antarctic challenge.