Celso Fonseca
Celso Fonseca, 36, smashed the 100km, 200km, 300km, 300-mile and 500km records during a marathon 24-hour cycling stint at the outdoor velodrome in the Maindy Centre. Originally from Portugal, Celso ended up sleeping rough for three months last year due to mental health problems and post-traumatic stress disorder.But he battled through and, after getting a place at a YMCA hostel in Roath and then a home of home of his own, began pursuing his dream of breaking the 24-hour cycling world record. He was unable to beat the record set by Austrian Christoph Strasser in 2015 when he rode for 556.856 miles (896.17km) in the 24-hour time limit in Berlin but still walked away with five unexpected records instead.
Realisation of record breaking
He said: “They kept showing me the board saying ‘new world record’ but I thought they were lying to me to keep me going. “I was crying because it’s a lot to take in. A lot of people don’t understand. They can see me there but they don’t know how I got there. “A couple of months ago I was homeless. “I can’t put it into words what this means. I’m getting lots of messages from people I don’t even know congratulating me. I just feel really special.”
Inspiration
He credits Wales with “saving his life” and hopes to inspire others with his achievements. He added: “I want to show it doesn’t matter if you have mental health problems, no money or where you come from, you can achieve what you want in life.” Evans Cycles in Cardiff sponsored Celso and he particularly bonded with employee Ethan O’Hara who helped organise the event and loaned Celso a skin suit and BMC Timemachine bike for it.
