Spotted on Strava: Time Trial History, Ed Sheeran & Walt Disney

From history at the World Time Trial Championships, to a new record on the Appalachian Trail, by way of Ed Sheeran and Walt Disney, there was a lot to look out for on Strava this week.

It's not often that sporting history gets made, so for it to happen twice in the space of a day is remarkable. That's what occurred at the Individual Time Trial World Championships on the weekend, as first Grace Brown and then Remco Evenepoel became the first and second riders to win Olympic gold and the World Championship in the event in the same year. Remco overcame a dropped chain and no power meter to take the title, riding purely 'on feeling'. Grace, meanwhile, finished her career on top of the world - the Aussie had announced her decision to retire at the start of the season, and no amount of gold medals or rainbow jerseys will change her mind. What a way to sign off your career!

From one race of truth to another, the world's top female long-distance triathletes gathered in Nice for the Ironman World Championships this weekend. Laura Philipp took the tape in 8:45:15, but alas as she is not on Strava we'll never know if it really happened 😬. Britain's Kat Matthews was second (8:53:20), with America's Chelsea Sodaro third (9:04:38). As with any Ironman event, there was a strong mix of pleasure and pain throughout the race, summed up perfectly by Australia's Penny Slater (seventh 9:21:47)

Talking of epic activities, over in the States, two impressive Fastest Known Times FKTs dropped in the space of a couple of days. First up, Tara Dower took the outright FKT for the Appalachian Trail. Tara completed the 2,193 mile (3529 km) trail in 40 days, 18 hours and 5 minutes - 13 hours faster than Karel Sabbe's 2018 record. Meanwhile, over in Colorado, Meredith Hughes took the female self-supported record for the 500 mile / 800 km Colorado Trail. Meredith completed the trail in 17 days, 9 hours, 58 minutes.

Switching locations, switching gears, and switching the general mood now. What better way to enjoy a run than by listening to a bit of music? Even better, how about if you could throw away your Airpods (or maybe put them down gently somewhere where you won't lose them) and have Ed Sheeran playing for you live? That's what happened to Nikki Atkins last week, as Sheeran serenaded her - and took requests - during her afternoon run along London's Regent's Canal.

And, finally, from one great entertainer to another. Gustavo Lyra paid homage to Walt Disney on this night walk outside of Natal, Brazil. A prolific Strava artist, if you like Gustavo's image of Walt Disney, it's also worth checking out this piece he did for the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.