A Polish cyclist who was attempting a winter expedition across the coldest inhabited place on Earth has been found dead in the Russian region of Yakutsk. The body of Adam Borejko († 49) was discovered on January 31 in a hotel room in the village of Khandyga, approximately 400 kilometers east of the regional center of Yakutsk, the website reports.
According to the local rescue services, Borejko was found around 5:10 p.m. local time after not leaving his room all day. Russian authorities are investigating the case, but the cause of death has not yet been released. The Yakut rescue service said that Borejko registered with it on January 24 and received a safety briefing before the start of the trip.
He set out on the expedition the next day. His goal was to cycle the route from Yakutsk to the village of Ojmjakon, where temperatures can drop below minus 50 degrees Celsius. The total length of the route was approximately 914 kilometers and the expedition was planned until February 18, 2026. Rescuers said the cyclist proceeded as planned and passed through several villages in the central part of Yakutia, including Tyungyulya and Churapcha. According to data from the tracking device on the bike, he checked into a hotel in Khandyga.
“He arrived in good condition, did not complain of health problems or frostbite and simply went to bed. The next morning he did not leave the room.” the hotel staff was quoted by the regional news portal sakhaday.ru. The worker assumed that he was resting and advised not to wake him. He was found dead approximately 21 hours later.
The trip to Yakutsk was the last stage of Borejka’s personal project focused on extreme endurance cycling. In an earlier interview, he stated that his goal was to test the limits of the human body in extreme conditions – heat, altitude and cold.
In 2023, he crossed the Sahara and the High Atlas Mountains in Moroccowhere temperatures often exceeded 50 degrees Celsius. A year later, he cycled across India from south to north, reaching the Himalayas and crossing mountain passes at an altitude of more than 5,000 meters above sea level.
