DOROTHY LIVIABELLA has won Mountain Mayhem, an iconic 24-hour mountain biking event hosted in the beautiful Gatcombe Park.

The estate of HRH The Princess Royal, best known for its eventing courses, hosted the 20th anniversary of this endurance race, which began at midday on Saturday and finished 24 hours later.

Some 2,500 riders took part in either teams of two, four, five and 10 – or for the very hardy as soloists.

Liviabella, a member of the Ride 24/7 female cycling team in Cirencester, was competing as a solo rider, having finished third in the event last year. She had her husband as support crew.

Contestants completed laps of 7.7 miles which boasted an ascent of more than 1,000 feet each lap, and took in wooded areas, grassy fields and some technical rocky descents.

Conditions were hot and sunny with the cooler evening proving much more bearable.

Liviabella said: “After coming third last year in my first 24-hour event, I wanted to do it again and see if I could use any of the lessons learned.

“I was drinking nearly a litre of water on the first few laps, which reduced to about half a litre during the night and my husband helped by having the right kind of food that I could take on easily and quickly.

“When on a pit stop I needed to eat real food like high calorie/carb dense soups, salty snacks, nuts and occasionally some fruit.

“My plan was to just keep churning out consistent laps and keep focussed, hydrated and fuelled.

“I didn’t want to know where I was until about halfway, as 24 hours is a long time and anything can happen.

“In the early hours I found out I was in second place, 40 minutes down. With about two hours to go I was only four minutes down so I gave it my all.

“Into the 23rd hour I moved into first place so, barring a mechanical issue, I felt I had a real chance of winning.

“After 21 laps and 161 miles (21,500 feet of ascent), I wasn’t sure if I would need to do one last lap. But as I neared the expo area to my relief the 10-second countdown began and I realised it was all over and I had won.

“I couldn’t quite believe that having gone through some really low points during the very early hours I had actually managed to win this epic event.

“I certainly would not have been able to do it without the support of my husband who took part himself last year. It was his amazing support and his well thought out vegan/plant-based fuelling which kept me going.”