An Aldford man is preparing to represent Great Britain at the World Duathlon Championships this weekend, just five years on from taking up the sport.

Peter Hollins, 54, is heading to Pontevedra, Spain, where he will take part in the 55-59 age category against some of the finest duathletes in the world.

Peter claimed a silver medal at the European Championships in the Netherlands back in April but, with his conqueror, Germany’s Ralf Laermann, absent from Pontevedra, the Chester businessman is hopeful of going one better on the world stage this time around.

“Training has been going brilliantly and I don’t think I could feel in much better shape going into competition,” said Peter, who owns his own business, Libero, which provides motivational coaching to business staff.

“I haven’t lost a day’s training this year and that has made a big difference.

“I came second at the Europeans, but the guy who beat me (Laermann) isn’t going to be at the World Championships so I’m confident that I’ll have a good chance of getting a medal, maybe even a gold.

“You don’t know who is going to be at these competitions sometimes.

“There will be elite duathletes from across Europe, the USA, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and some from Japan. The Spanish guys are always very good.

“All I can do is focus on myself and see where I get to. It’s just an honour to be able to represent your country.”

Having competed in triathlons on a number of occasions, it wasn’t until Peter took on the duathlon around five-years-ago that found his niche.

“I’d done the odd triathlon but always struggled as my swimming was never that good and I always had to make up ground with running and on the bike, and I did that well,” he added.

“I would spend half my time overtaking people. I don’t like doing things unless I can be competitive. I then discovered duathlon, which I’d never considered before.

“Once I realised I was actually quite good at it I began taking it more and more seriously.

“I absolutely love it, everything about it.

“Hopefully I can mark another milestone in Spain and come back with a gold medal. That would be superb.”