THREE friends from Minehead took the brave step of entering the gruelling Xterra triathlon team event with very little training and came away with first prize.

Solicitor Ian Denley (right), market trader Steve Pye (centre) and John Halls, of DJ Miles tea and coffee merchants, have now qualified for the Xterra World Championships in Maui, Hawaii, in October and received £200.

The shocked trio only decided to enter the Great Britain Championship days before the event kicked off on Sunday in Minehead and the surrounding area.

Ian, a keen windsurfer, took the plunge and set off first on the 1,500-metre swimming leg in the Bristol Channel before passing over to Steve for the 22-mile bike ride, with John finishing on foot in the seven-mile run.

The off-road triathlon attracts competitors from all over the world and Minehead and Exmoor has provided the backdrop for the televised event for the past three years.

Ian told the Free Press: "I was delighted with the win as we had done very little training for the event.

"I did feel tired during the swim but Steve managed to crawl back a lot of places in the bike ride to get us back into contention.

"The trip to Maui sounds fantastic and it would be a good opportunity for me to get in some windsurfing."

They were all stunned that they managed to scoop first spot in the team event against tough opposition from athletes from all over Europe.

Steve said: "I was really pleased and surprised that we could achieve such a goal when we hadn't really trained. The decision to enter was only made a few days prior."

And John said: "I was roped into this team just a few days beforehand and now we have a place in the finals in Maui! Hopefully, we'll be able to spend the £200 down the pub."

Photo: Steve Guscott.