MOUNTAIN biker James Whittaker admitted it was a mental as well as physical challenge when he competed in the World Solo 24 Hour MTB Championship, writes TOM SCHOFIELD.

The 36-year-old from Accrington, known to all as Ticker, came sixth in his age category and finished 76th overall out of 161 at the gruelling event around the foothills of Ben Nevis - Britain’s highest mountain.

It was only Whittaker’s third 24-hour race and his first World Championships outing so he was delighted with the outcome.

“Most of the lads who are elite riders have all done 10 plus 24 hour races,” he said. “They have miles more experience than me.

“So I was really happy.”

Whittaker concedes that training for these endurance races is no mean feat, and it takes some real motivation

He explained: “It takes a lot of commitment and a lot of training. It takes mental training, even when it’s raining and snowing, I’ll still get on my bike and go to work.

“You can turn up to the races and it be throwing it down and snowing so you have to prepare yourself for that. Some people don’t bother preparing mentally.

“You can’t give up; you have to have that thing in your mind that keeps you going.

“This World Championships I’ve just done; it was raining for the most of the 24 hours. There were guys that were throwing their bikes down. Even the elite riders, they were giving up.

“I put so much time and effort into training though, I ride my bike every day and have Saturdays and Sundays off.

“I just ride my bike as much as I can, to condition myself to do something like this.”

Whittaker has always been into bikes, and after a time away from the pedals he got back into it and hasn’t looked back since.

He continued: “I was into bikes and stuff when I was younger, had a bit of a break and then got back into it.

“For about five to six years I’ve been competing in 50-mile endurance races and doing pretty well in that and then just fancied a go at 24-hour endurance races.

“So I trained hard, did my first one last year in June, and came 22nd and then I was hooked, I just wanted to do another.”

An engineer by trade and a family man, Whittaker credits his hard work to his wife and four children

He said: “I’m an engineer, and I have four kids and a wife. I couldn’t do this without them and my friends.

“I will cycle to work, and that acts as part of my training and then I cycle at night as well. Some nights I won’t get back until late.”

As well as the fitness side of it, these endurance challenges take a great amount of mental strength and there is a tactical side, something Whittaker has to be aware of.

He explained: “You learn a lot, this one is my third one and each one you learn little bits and pick up tips. You know how you can push yourself a bit further in your next one.

“You can stop if you want to stop, but I’ve never stopped to sleep. I go all through the night with no sleep.

“You can stop in your pit and have some food, have a drink and get a fresh bottle of energy drink that you can have on your lap.

“You’ve got to give yourself fuel, even if you don’t feel hungry you have to eat, you have to force it down because you need to fuel up. If you don’t do that, then you run out of gas.

“It doesn’t just boil down to fitness, while that is a part of it, it boils down to your mental strength.

“You have to have tactics as well, so feeding times, and coming changing your clothes when they’re wet. It is easy to come in and sit down.

“The longest break I had in the 24 hours was about 15 minutes, and that’s only because I was absolutely wet through to the bone, it was coming around to about half past three in the morning. I was drenched and cold.

“I quickly got into a fresh set of bike stuff, had a bit of food and some coffee and got back out there.”

On why he does the races, he said: “People ask me why I do it, and all I say is, I just love it. I love the endurance; I love being able to last that long.”

Whittaker wants to go as far as he can in the sport, and has aspirations of being able to travel to different countries to take part in these types of events.

He said: “I want to be able to take this as far as I can, most of the elite riders are around 40 and I am only 36.

“Hopefully in a couple of years I may be able to get a good sponsor and travel the world doing what I love.”

On other people’s reactions to his passion, he said: “It’s quite a big thing in the mountain bike community, but as soon as you mention it to someone, they’re like, ‘24 hours, what do you mean?’

“I explain that a race starts dinner time on Saturday and finished dinner time on Sunday, and they just don’t get it. It’s one of the hardest sports to do.”