Congratulations to Daniel Steinhauser – who set a new record for the: HWMR – (7-day TT) – in the following categories: Male, 18-49 (age-group), non-drafting, upright bike.

Daniel Steinhauser and his Team: 7-Day Time Trial (HWMR) 25/04/2026 – 02/05/2026 

There are so many places in the world with much better conditions for riding fast and far. But I absolutely wanted to do this here, in our home region of Upper Swabia and the Allgäu. I wanted to bring the people here along with us and let them become part of the project. 

In general, I defined three major goals: 

● To test and discover my own athletic limits 

● To create an unforgettable experience with my best friends 

● To support a truly meaningful cause: the children’s hospice in Bad Grönenbach 

My friends – people with responsible jobs and families – spent months preparing this 7-day project. We even created a dedicated project management tool for it, held weekly digital meetings and later also in-person meetings, where every aspect was planned in detail. Things like hygiene concepts, medical support, nutrition, and operational procedures – all while knowing that, realistically, none of us actually had time for this in our normal daily lives. 

We were prepared, and so on April 25th, 2026 at exactly 09:02 a.m., I stood at the start line at Grabener Höhe in Bad Waldsee in the best shape of my life. 

The setup: my Orbea Ordu M10, and the support van with my friends driving directly behind me, connected via duplex radio systems for the best possible communication. The crew inside the van changed shifts every day at 06:00 a.m. and 06:00 p.m. 

The first day went according to plan, but the night was brutally cold: 0°C and 90% humidity — definitely not my kind of weather. When I returned to basecamp completely frozen for my planned 60 minutes of sleep, instead of the desperately awaited hot shower, only cold water was waiting for me. Instead of 60 minutes of deep sleep, it became 60 minutes of shivering — and then it was straight back onto the bike and into the cold darkness again. 

During the first four days, the weather was pleasantly warm during the daytime, but frosty at night. Overall, there was very little wind and, at first glance, the conditions seemed good. However, in our region there are no roads with fast asphalt that do not constantly go up and down. 

Instead, there were beautiful roads surrounded by blooming rapeseed fields and flower meadows — and that turned into one of the greatest challenges of these seven days. Every hour it felt like there was a one-centimeter-thick layer of pollen dust on the windshield. There had been no rain during the week before the start, and in addition there was Saharan dust in the air. Luckily, I do not suffer from allergies or respiratory diseases, but the daily exposure along the blooming fields became noticeable very quickly.

My nose felt completely clogged. The pollen dust my team saw on the windshield was exactly what I inhaled directly and deeply into my lungs over all those hours on the bike. I developed breathing problems, neck pain, sleep deprivation, and at night my sensitivity to cold became another issue. On top of that — or maybe because of all of it — my stomach also started to rebel from time to time at the roadside. 

We had expected many problems and challenges, but such a combination already on day 2 and day 3 was extraordinary. I am convinced that the pollen and Saharan dust heavily affected my entire system. 

I am the father of two boys. The children’s hospice is something that touches me deeply on a personal and emotional level. It is such an important and valuable institution for affected families. They cannot simply stop when things become difficult. And unlike them, my attempt would end after seven days, not at some uncertain point in time. 

Mentally, I was exactly where you need to be for a record attempt like this. Nevertheless, this is also about responsibility — towards other people on the road and towards my family. That is why we defined our red lines very clearly beforehand. 

There were already some extremely hard and ugly phases. From my side, I would never have stopped. On days 2, 4, 5, 6 and directly after finishing, we took blood samples and received the results only two hours later. What initially felt like a work of art and a service to science became, during the fifth night, an important parameter in the medical decision about whether I was still allowed to continue riding. By then I had also developed an elevated temperature. 

Despite all the stories, problems, and challenges, one thing must be said: 85% of the time it was the most beautiful sporting week of my life. 

The people of our region became part of the project. They stood at the roadside for hours — I mainly rode a 20 km loop — cheering, making signs, feeding my crew. Drivers honked and encouraged us. Day by day, the route turned more and more into a real festival. 

Nutritionally, I lived about 95% on liquids. In addition, I ate dry white rice, lovingly shaped into small balls by my mother, which I washed down with cola. It worked perfectly. 

In the end, the total distance reached 3,860.66 kilometers — and today, I am happy with that. 

But if someone had told me that number beforehand, I would probably have been disappointed. Because I know the distance is definitely not the absolute maximum I am capable of. At the same time, during all the months of preparation, I realized something important: it is only a number — a WUCA and Guinness World Record for the books — and one that will certainly be broken one day. 

But the story behind it — friends standing together, inspiring an entire region, exciting children and making them part of the project at the roadside, beautifully crazy people lighting red flares on a green field at 03:30 a.m. just to cheer us on, hundreds of people gathering at 09:02 a.m. on May 2nd, 2026 in the historic old town of Bad Waldsee to welcome and

celebrate us as a team — that, together with our fundraising mission for the children’s hospice, is the true core and meaning of these unbelievably beautiful but also hardest seven days of my life. 

Look forward to a real and authentic documentary film. It is completely crazy: the entire story was professionally filmed and will be released in cinemas all across Germany. 

At one point, a team member and friend said: 

“Daniel, all of us know that we are working in the realm of miracles.” — and he definitely was not talking about a number of kilometers.