One Central Alberta adventure cyclist is looking forward to representing Canada across the globe as he is set to take part in a world championship race.

Ryan Correy, 28, of Bentley, left for Montebelluna, Treviso, Italy on Wednesday. He will compete in the 2011 UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Championship on June 26.

“I’m really excited and I’m going to do the best that I can do,” said Correy, who is also a personal trainer and the assistant manager at Best Body Fitness in Sylvan Lake.

Dubbed Europe’s longest cross-country race, Correy will ride 115.7 kms, reaching an elevation of 2,860 metres.

Correy is competing as part of the Canadian National Cycling Team and is confident heading into the race, but as of late has experienced some setbacks in his cycling.

Last October, Correy attempted to break the world record for the longest time continuously cycling on a spinning machine.

The current record, according to the Guiness Book of World Records, is eight days and eight hours.

To beat the record, Correy had to travel 20 kms each hour. He was allowed five minutes off the bike for every completed hour he rode. These break times could be carried forward.

After cycling for six days and 20 hours, and with just 36 hours left to go, Correy reached his limit.

After waking up from a nap, Correy was disoriented and a call was made to stop the record attempt.

Since then, Correy has battled back from ailments caused during last fall’s attempt.

“I’m still dealing with some issues including some pain and I’m having issues with my joints,” he said. “When I was preparing for the record attempt I had foreseen two to three months of numbness afterwards, which I did experience. But then I got severe nerve pain and that nerve pain translated into gnarly joint problems.

“This competition will be validation that I can still ride. I’m realistic about my expectations. I have this goal and for me it’s important to see this goal through and represent Canada the best I can at this point.”

Correy added he is looking forward to racing internationally.

“This will be my first race internationally so it will be a lot of fun and it’ll be a really great experience.”

In addition, Correy is no stranger to adventure and has accomplished a lot in his career so far and has even broken one world record unofficially.

“In 2005 I cycled from Alaska to Argentina in the shortest amount of time,” he said. “I had unofficially beaten the record but decided not to go through the process of submitting my information.”

At the time Correy beat that record, he was supporting the Make A Wish Foundation, more specifically one family. The family’s son passed away just before Correy embarked on his cycling journey.

“I got to the end and had been through quite a bit and the record meant very little at that point and I wanted to showcase the memory of my friend,” he said.

In 2008, Correy competed in The Race Across America, which took him on a 12 day, 5,000 km cycling journey across the U.S.

“That was something that has always been on my radar since I was a pretty young kid,” said Correy. “Getting back from that I have always been looking for a new challenge.”

In addition, Correy will be updating his web site as he embarks on his journey to Italy. To follow him visit www.ryansdream.wordpress.com.

efawcett@reddeerexpress.com