Hopkinson has just returned from a fortnight in America where he broke course records and took part in the "toughest 48 hours in sport".

First up was the Texas 24-hour race, in Claeburn, which he won with a course and event record of 400.22 miles, some 20 miles ahead of his nearest challenger.

Over his 20 circuits of the 20-mile course, the 36-year-old totalled an exhausting 24,000 miles of climbing.

"I actually finished the race after 23 and a half hours," Hopkinson said.

"I could have done another circuit of the course but that would have only given me another ten miles to my tally, and I knew that the guy behind me was far enough away.

"I sat back on a deckchair and enjoyed a pizza while watching him finish – he wasn't too well by the end of it though, he was struggling to keep anything down!"

From there Hopkinson drove to Guymon, in Oaklahoma, before getting back on his bike to take in around a third – approximately 1,000 miles – of the Race Across America route, which he plans to take part in next year.

That took him through sites in New Mexico and Arizona, before arriving in California for the Furnace Creek 508 – a non-stop 508-mile event that is widely regarded as the world's premier ultramarathon bicycle race.

That began in Santa Clarita and finished in Twenty Nine Palms, via Death Valley and the Mojava Desert.

Cyclists are out on their own and open to the elements, which caused only 26 of the 123 solo riders to complete the race.

"In the early stages I was up in second and third but then we had a massive hurricane, when we were facing winds of up to 80 miles-per-hour," Hopkinson said.

"I was being picked up by the wind and being placed down elsewhere on the course, it was that bad, I had one stage where I only managed one mile in 20 minutes because of the headwind.

"The guy who won it, Marko Baloh, was about four hours clear as he got through Death Valley before the winds came in.

"Coming into Death Valley I was hitting speeds of around 62mph, something I've never done before in my solo cycling.

"At one stage I dropped down as far as 19th but managed to pull it back over the last couple of time stations."

Hopkinson eventually finished tenth overall, having completed the gruelling course – which involved 35,000 kilometres of climbing – in 38 hours 48 minutes 30 seconds.

He crossed the finish line exhausted but with a big grin on his face, wearing his bright orange Matlock Cycling Club colours – an outfit that won him the award for the best-dressed rider, and the nickname 'Tangerine Machine'.

Each rider is given an animal-related name for the event, a tradition dating back to the mid-1990s, with the race itself first having been competed back in 1983.

Slovenian winner Baloh was known as 'Tweety Bird', while Hopkinson became 'Border Collie'.

Hopkinson's overall impression of the race was one of amazement, and he says taking part was a great experience – particularly as the conditions were a real test of a rider's ability.

"Never before have I even seen, let alone competed, in anything as awesome as that – it truly was amazing."

By Gareth Davis