TWO triathletes have vowed to press ahead with an Ironman challenge later this month despite coming off their bikes in a collision during a training ride.

York man Stephen Phillips, 55, said he and John Bevan, 53, from Barlby, Selby, were lucky to escape with minor injuries after he was caught on the elbow by an overtaking caravan on a road in the Wolds.

“I was propelled forward into John, who was in front of me,” he said. “My front wheel caught in his pedals and we both fell down, with me on top of John.

“I suffered bruising to my ribs, and bruising and grazes to my right elbow and a badly grazed left elbow. John has a bad shoulder which is making it difficult to swim. We were both shaken up but the paramedics who turned up said we were very lucky not to have suffered more serious injury.”

He said both their bikes, each worth several thousand pounds, were written off in the accident, which happened as they were returning to York from a ride out to Bridlington.

Despite this, they are determined to take part in the Ironman event in Hamburg on July 29, in which they would have to swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles and then finish by running 26.2 miles.

Stephen, from the Hungate area, who works at City of York Council’s recycling department at Hazel Court and is raising money for Alzheimer’s Society, said they had both had to buy replacement bikes, hoping insurance would cover at least some of the cost.

Humberside Police said a driver called on June 24, to say he had been involved in a minor collision with a group of cyclists, two of whom suffered minor injuries and damage to their bikes.

A spokeswoman added that officers were working to establish the full circumstances of the incident and the inquiry was still active.