A BROKEN leg playing football led to Mike Jones competing in one of the world's toughest amateur cycling challenges.

The 29-year-old, who took up the sport two years ago to aid his recovery, has just completed the L'Etape Du Tour Mondovelo.

The 115-mile course is one of the hardest stages of the Tour de France.

Mike, of Lady Bay, West Bridgford, took part in it on July 18 and excelled – finishing 656th out of more than 10,000 riders.

The Nottingham Clarion Cycling Club member said: "From an amateur cyclist's point of view it is seen as the biggest achievement and challenge you can do.

"The climbs were torturous and long, and on the descents I reached speeds of 51mph. I had no scrapes but I did see riders on the side of the road who had come off on descent.

"Crossing the line, I was pretty elated that I had done it. There was no sense of relief though as I am hoping to do it again next year."

Mr Jones, who teaches history at The National School in Hucknall, covered more than 3,800 miles in training for the race.

His regime, which began in February, included a 20-mile round-trip commuting to and from work, regular outings with Nottingham Clarion, and competing in endurance road races in the UK.

He took two days off work to compete in the race.

"The school was really supportive," he said. "They saw it as something really positive that the kids could learn from."

L'Etape Du Tour took riders from Pau to the Col Du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees. The riders had to negotiate three climbs along the way – the Col Du Marie-Blanque at 1,035 metres high, the Col Du Soulor at 1,474 metres and the Col Du Tourmalet at 2,115 metres.

Mr Jones completed the race in seven hours, 32 minutes and 54 seconds, which included scaling the Col Du Tourmalet in one hour, 37 minutes, 33 seconds.

The route was the 17th stage of the Tour de France on Thursday.

Mr Jones said: "They selected the hardest stage of the Tour de France for us to race on, which included a total of more than 4,600 metres of climbing.

"The scenery was amazing and the atmosphere gave you an idea of what the professionals go through on Le Tour.

"Spectators lined the road and were ringing cow bells and throwing water on us to help cool us down. It made it very special."