AN AMATEUR cyclist joined thousands of others to compete in one of the most gruelling bike races in the world.

Adam Jones joined 4,499 other cyclists on the same cobbles graced by the professionals, to take part in the recordbreaking Paris Roubaix Challenge.

Mr Jones, a Conservative councillor for Barling, who is standing down at the election in May, said he was happy to have survived the race dubbed the Hell of the North.

Mr Jones and his friend Gary Poynter were part of a British invasion keen to test their skills over 141 energy-sapping kilometres, including 30kms of the famed pave.

He said: “The very first sector of pavewe encountered was the Arenburg Trench. The morning rain had made the stones slick and the moisture was then locked in by the density the Arenburg forest’s trees, moss between the stones and mud brought onto them by the cyclists.

“As I bounced and rattled along I passed a man who had crashed and broken his leg.

One of my contact lenses was shaken out by the violence of the vibration travelling up throughmy hands and arms, as I hung onto the handlebars.

“Moments later, I crashed, dusted myself down and got back on, but fell off again almost immediately.”

As the ride progressed, Mr Jones began to get to grips with riding his bike across the juddering surface. He added: “I realised I was hanging on for dear life. You have to relax, which is counterintuitive because you’re so tense at the thought you might crash in the blink of an eye, but you have to make yourself loosen your grip on the bars and pedal quickly and at a constant pace.

“Of course, matters weren’t help by the burly Belgian lads who would steam up behind you and then, basically, try to bully you out of the way. As I got better and more confident, I found myself riding shoulderto- shoulder with one bloke – actually, we were leaning on one another – as we vied for the smoother part of the cobbles.

So it was quite rough and competitive at times.”

Mr Jones, 47, tackled the race to raise money for Southend Hospital’s Keyhole Cancer Appeal and to thank the team which looked after him after a horse riding accident in February 2013.

Britain’s Sir BradleyWiggins took part and finished in 18th place.

You can support Mr Jones and the Keyhole Cancer Appeal by making a donation via his Just Giving page at just giving.com/Adam-Jones67