Alberto Contador barely lasted three weeks atop cycling's trendiest climbing challenge, but his Everest summit record was broken by former Irish pro Ronan McLaughlin.

Contador's record was not only broken, it was obliterated. McLaughlin completed the 8848-meter elevation gain that mimics the world's highest peak in 7 hours and 4 minutes, 23 minutes faster than Contador, a seven-time Grand Tour winner.

This record has been regularly updated as the coronavirus pandemic has increased its popularity.

Contador himself took the record from Lachlan Morton of EF Pro Cycling by a relatively narrow margin of two minutes.

"It's great news ...... And a clear indication that breaking 7 hours is possible ......!" was the Hells 500's response to McLaughlin's ride, approving the attempt.

McLoughlin now races as an amateur on the Irish national scene, balancing it with a full-time coaching job, but once competed at a higher level: he was part of the Anne Post-Shawn Kelly team from 2008 to 2013, and was a member of the Dan Martin and Nicolas Roche, representing Ireland at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships.

McLaughlin's record-breaking Thursday was her second Everest attempt, two and a half weeks after setting an Irish record of 8 hours and 9 minutes.

On Thursday, he headed up the same climb of Donegal's Mamore Gap, but decided to use a short section of 800 meters to make the most of the steepest 14 percent section.

"The first attempt went much better than I had imagined. I got through it much better than I had imagined, and I didn't have any knee pain at the end.

"I had nothing to lose by going into the steeper sections and I was already doing good times. We increased the number of laps but reduced the distance. Sure, I was relatively comfortable for the first three-quarters of the race, but I started to feel it from the second hour on Thursday. There was very little recovery time, and the downhill was only 40 seconds, and from there it was back to a five-minute climb. But whatever my nature, I'm better at laboring on steep inclines.

With the possibility of a sub-7-hour Everest under the spotlight, McLaughlin said he is trying to resist the temptation to go back to Everest.

"Never say never, but I genuinely believe that will be my last attempt."

McLaughlin is taking on Everest to raise funds for the Community Rescue Service (open in new tab), a charitable search and rescue organization run by community volunteers throughout Northern Ireland. He has so far raised more than £2,000.