- By Shailvee Tiwari
- Mon, 06 Oct 2025 06:45 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
French Cyclist Viral Video: Breaking records on two wheels, that’s exactly what French cyclist and influencer Aurelien Fontenoy did. The athlete made history by becoming the fastest person ever to climb the Eiffel Tower on a bike, turning an impossible challenge into a viral triumph. On October 3, Fontenoy reached the second floor of the iconic monument in just 12 minutes and 30 seconds, a feat that smashed a 23-year-old record.
According to the Société d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, “Fontenoy climbed 686 steps of the monument to reach the second-floor platform, the last accessible by stairs, in 12 minutes and 30 seconds.” The second floor is the highest point reachable without taking an elevator, which made the task even more challenging.
Sharing the moment online, the official Eiffel Tower handle posted, “#WORLDRECORD! 12 minutes and 30 seconds: that’s how long it took @aurelien_fontenoy to climb, on a trial bike, the 686 steps leading up to the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower! He smashed the previous record held by Hugues Richard: 19 minutes and 4 seconds in 2002.”
Watch The Viral Video:
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The video was shared on Instagram two days ago and pulled 156k views from social media users. Users were quick to react to the viral video in the comment section. "Bravo and congratulations to you, @aurelien_fontenoy, for this beautiful performance," a user wrote. "Congratulations to this gentleman for his achievement. We had mounted them on foot, we didn't put 12min30seconds," a second user wrote.
"I couldn't get up with my old knees, imagine on a bike, sensational," wrote a third user. "Bravo, try this time to do it on the stairs of Burj Al khalifa in Dubai," added a fourth user. "The boss... definitely! Good luck to the next one to beat this time," added another user