A former England footballer recovering from cancer spoke of his delight after finishing a 500-mile cross-country bike ride yesterday.
Geoff Thomas, aged 41, and his three team-mates completed the non-stop challenge at 1pm in Manchester's Velodrome stadium after setting off from Wembley Stadium exactly 24 hours earlier.
The ex-Wolves player said he was exhausted but thrilled to have finished the feat.
Thomas took part in the cycle ride as a preparation for next month's epic 3,052-mile Race Across America in which he aims to raise thousands of pounds for leukaemia charities.
He was diagnosed with leukaemia himself in July 2003 and, despite the disease currently being in remission, Thomas still suffers breathing difficulties and problems with his eyes.
He said: "We were delighted with the way things went and to have crossed the finishing line.
"We decided we were just going to ride as hard as we could and see how we coped, particularly with the sleep deprivation. This was really just the preparation for the race in America."
