A WOMAN has defied the odds, despite a genetic disorder, and completed a 980 mile cross-country bike ride.

Sophie Holmes, from Southend, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just four-months-old, took on the Deloitte Ride Across Britain.

Sophie, 28, said: “I take a lot of medication and keep fit to keep the condition at bay.

“I was told I would die by the age of 16, so have already defied the odds, and that’s very important to me.

“I am moulding my life to show people what can be done and provide hope to other people with the condition.

“There is a lot of sadness around cystic fibrosis and I want to bring more positivity to inspire others.

“I have never done a challenge like this before, but have completed others.

“I did the event in nine days and each day was a new challenge for me, we travelled through the hills of Devon and those hills were immense.

“Oxford was a bit flatter and you travel more on days when the course is a bit flatter.”

Sophie said as you get further up the UK the more beautiful it gets.

She continued: “We spent three days in Scotland and it’s absolutely stunning there, it’s like a postcard.

“Some of the inclines in Scotland are huge and about 20 per cent.

“The support along the way is just amazing, not just from the crowds but also from the event teams.

“Every 35 to 40 miles there are pit stops for the riders to refuel with food, drinks and energy packs.”

She said each campsite the riders arrived at was all set up and ready with people for massages and physiotherapists and great food.

She said the amount of people involved blew her mind.

Ms Holmes said she trained for about six months in Essex and realised how flat the county is when she took on the ride.

She said: “I did a few 100 miles rides to get used to it and was on the bike training about four times a week.

“This is not the first event I have done, in June I did an 80 mile paddle board race from The Bahamas to Palm Beach in Florida.”

The riding event saw more than 1,000 cyclists take on the route from Land’s End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in northern Scotland.

The ride took place between September 7 until September 15 and the route passed through 27 counties.