THREE cyclists leave Huddersfield next week to take on a daunting French challenge.

Ian Sutcliffe, Brian Childs and John Radford are competing in the 1,200km Paris-Brest-Paris race, along with more than 6,000 other riders.

And for 67-year-old John, it is a great personal achievement.

For little over a year ago, he broke his hip and suffered other injuries in a fall from his bike which meant he could not ride.

But his determination to get back in the saddle – and exercises on a special “recumbent” cycle – meant he was back riding again 12 months after the accident.

Now John, of Meltham, Scapegoat Hill’s Brian and Newsome’s Ian, 38, are packing their bags ready to depart for France.

The PBP challenge is held every four years, with the first in 1971 attracting fewer than 700 riders.

It has grown considerably and is now considered one of the world’s top endurance events for cyclists.

In addition to the 6,000-plus riders, there will be an army of 2,000 volunteers who will feed and water the competitors at 17 control points along the route.

John said: “We have to present our bikes for inspection prior to the start on August 21 so they can be checked for safety and lighting, as much of the riding is done through the night.

“We will then be setting off in groups, dependant on what time we elect to finish in which can be anything from 80 to 90 hours.

“That time includes all that you allocate to sleep and to eat.”

John, who is a member of Huddersfield Cyclists’ Touring Club, is delighted to be taking part after doctors told him last year he would struggle to get back on two wheels.

“I had a bad fall from my bike in January, 2010, and suffered a broken hip. I came off on black ice and lay in the road and, ironically, I was found by the crew of a gritting lorry.

“If I had waited 10 more minutes to go down that road, it would have been gritted.

“I had to undergo surgery and the doctors told me they did not see me getting back on two wheels for a long time.

“I managed to get hold of the recumbent machine from a cyclist in Nottingham. It’s a three-wheel affair and it enabled me to build up my muscles and my fitness in relative safety.

“I started riding that in November, when I was still having physio, and finally persuaded the doctors in January this year, a year after the accident, that I could manage on my own bike.”

Since then he has built up his fitness and is confident he can complete the French challenge.

He has done a 600k ride as well as two 200k rides and hopes he and the other two riders will finish the tough course.