gears a few meters before the ascent. But when the gradient got too steep—I could hear my heart pounding in my ears because of the effort—and gravity threatened to topple me, I unclipped and joined a procession of about eight age groupers off their bikes

This Sunday heralds the return of one of the UK's most prestigious endurance triathlons; Ironman UK. This is the only officially branded Iron distance event in England. More than 1,500 triathletes will be speeding through Lancashire's countryside

advice anyone could give you when you're attempting the Alpe d'Huez Triathlon. The race was started four years ago by French triathlete and ITU 2002 World Long Distance Champion Cyrille Neveu. He used to invite friends to train with him in the area