TWO members of St Ives Cycling Club travelled to Norway to take part in a gruelling extreme triathlon event. Peter Gowans – on his 40th birthday – and Paul Veitch took on the Norseman Xtreme event, which claims to be the toughest event in the triathlon ca

TWO members of St Ives Cycling Club travelled to Norway to take part in a gruelling extreme triathlon event.

Peter Gowans - on his 40th birthday - and Paul Veitch took on the Norseman Xtreme event, which claims to be the toughest event in the triathlon calendar.

The trial begins with a jump from the deck of a car ferry and a 2.4-mile swim back to the town of Eidfjord.

From there, the competitors begin the 112-mile bicycle leg, including five mountain passes. The first of these takes competitors to a blood-thinning 1,250m above sea level.

Strong headwinds on the passes made life even harder for the competitors, with many failing to make the qualifying time limit in the gruelling conditions.

The final leg of the Norseman is a full marathon. The first 17 miles are flat before the final nine miles take competitors up another mountain pass to the ski resort of Gaustatoppen - gales meant the planned mountain-top finish was abandoned.

Both St Ives competitors finished the triathlon within the time limit, with Veitch coming in 55th position in a time of 14 hours and 23 minutes.

Gowans finished in 14 hours and 46 minutes and was greeted by his family and a birthday cake at the finish line.

Elsewhere, six members of St Ives CC headed to Derbyshire for the 'Sleepless in the saddle' 24-hour mountain bike race.

Tracey and Josh Ibbett, Alan Moules, Greg Simcock and Veitch formed a five-person team in the mixed category at Catton Park.

Russell Miller took his place in a two-man team, looking to gain some experience in the discipline for a 24-hour solo ride next year.

Josh Ibbett put in a lightning-fast first lap to put his side in the top 10 overall early on and St Ives were in seventh position as night fell.

Rain during the night changed conditions dramatically and made much of the course virtually impossible to ride.

Dawn brought dry weather - and St Ives in 12th position. Some strong riding saw the team finish the race in eighth position, of 84 starting teams.