Russian cyclist finishes first week of around the world trip

Famous Russian cyclist Sergei Lyzhin has successfully completed in Helsinki the first week of his second around the world trip. He started on October 30th in the Estonian capital, Tallinn. The sportsman is dedicating his journey to the 300th anniversary of Russia's northern capital, St Petersburg. The event will be celebrated in May next year.

From Scandinavia Lyzhin's route will take him through Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal and then on to the USA and Canada. He will then hit Russian territory before reaching his final destination of St Petersburg. The around the world trip will cover 35,000 km and should take about 400 days.

The 47-year-old Russian completed his first trip in 1999-2000. He then traveled in the opposite direction by crossing Russia before tackling the rest of the world west to east.