Top riders endure a 24-hour slog through mud

A GROUP of the Guernsey's top mountain bikers took part in one of the most gruelling endurance races at the weekend.

Called Sleepless in the Saddle 2008, 300 competitors tried to ride as many laps as possible of an eight-mile course around Catton Park in Derbyshire in 24 hours.

To make matters worse, they were also drenched in rain for most of the race, which made conditions incredibly hard under wheel.

'It seemed like a good idea at the time – a bit of an end-of-season social,' said Josh Gosselin, who was one of the local riders.

'But a couple of hours beforehand it started raining and it became a bit of a slog, to say the least. The course got slower and slower as we progressed.

'From one to three o'clock in the morning what was mud turned into sludge and we were then struggling to push our bikes round.'

Fellow Island Games competitor Danny Shaw, Philip Touzeau and Matt Osborn, joined Gosselin, 23, in the Guernsey Velo Club One team.

GVC Two side comprised Richard Setters, Pete Miller, Jon Beck and Gary Robert.

Gosselin and Setters took the first legs for their respective sides when the event began at 2pm on Saturday.