Two Melbourne players are taking on the world’s highest summit, climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest, but in South Australia.
Demons captain Max Gawn and teammate Ed Langdon, together with comedian Hamish Blake, have joined the latest cycling craze called Everesting.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Demons stars tackle Everesting challenge at Willunga Hill
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The challenge involves a gruelling 40 laps of Willunga Hill, beginning under the cover of darkness.
The trio hit the saddle for the first of the taxing 3.7 kilometre uphill climbs, averaging a 7 per cent elevation.
Gawn, the Demons’ best and fairest this year, and Langdon started their off-seasons with their foot on the pedal.
With no training and no plan, they carb-loaded the night before for the Herculean challenge.
“Had some spaghetti, had some pizza and sterling. What else did I have? Had some ice cream. I was loaded. I was good,” Gawn told 7NEWS.
More snacks were on hand during the ride, with Langdon joking: “It’s sort of an eating competition with a little bit of cycling thrown in.”
Blake joined the duo, fuelling up on honey and taking in the views rather than focusing on speed.
“I mean, it’s very consistent in me versus the hill. The hill’s putting on a really good show. So, it’s unwavering,” Blake said.
“The region of Australia is so beautiful, you’ve got to really see it 40 times in a row to fully appreciate it. You’d hate to just see it once.”
The challenge was not without its technical dramas. Gawn suffered a faulty seat, and at times they had to share lights.
None of them managed to threaten the Willunga Hill TDU record of 6:39 held by Richie Porte.
The ride was set to go well into the evening and potentially even Tuesday morning.
