A St Albans resident is taking on an ambitious cycling challenge across Europe in July.

Max Jenkins and a group of three friends, known as Team Vélo Tab, will be attempting to cover an astonishing 3,000 miles on two wheels during the course of their journey.

They will cross the length of mainland Europe from its northernmost point at Nordkapp in Norway, to its southernmost point at Punta de Tarifa in Spain.

Their gruelling route covers 11 countries and will take just over 30 days to complete. Working in pairs in a relay format with support from a team vehicle, it will be a huge feat of physical endurance as well as their mental robustness and unrefined language skills.

Max, who is described as a ‘triathlon fanatic’, believes he is well prepared to tackle this challenge, having completed an unsupported foot crossing of Iceland with one of his cycling teammates, Emma Byatt, in 2013.

He said: “The team has put in many hours of background work so far in planning the expedition and we can’t wait to get in the saddle and start racking up the miles.”

The team hopes to raise over £6,000 for Help for Heroes and Jimmy’s Cambridge, a night shelter for the homeless.

Max added: “If we had to choose one thing to achieve from our efforts it would be to make as big a difference as possible to the lives of those people that our charities support in such a positive way. That and coming back home in one piece.”

Donations can be made through the team’s Virgin Money Giving page at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/VeloTab and you can find out more about the team and their progress by following them on Twitter (@VeloTab2015), Facebook (Vélo Tab 2015) and on their website (www.velotab2015.co.uk).