The participants in this year's Lifecycle Challenge left Malta for Brisbane in Australia this afternoon.

The 10-day challenge will see 33 cyclists cover 1,900 kilometres from Brisbane to Melbourne, cycling from Queensland through New South Wales and to Victoria, over a 10-day period. The challenge starts on Sunday.

Challenge founder Alan Curry said this 14th edition of the challenge, which is now held annually to raise fund for the Renal Unit, had started with 46 cyclists but 13 had to drop out.

The cyclists are accompanied by a back-up team of 15 people who include cooks, doctors, nurses and physiotherapists.

Mr Curry said that organising the trip was quite a challenge because the Australian authorities were very strict about entry into the country. Cyclists were even asked to clean the bottom of their cycle boots, he said.

A total of €185,000 have already been collected this year. Mr Curry noted that more money is raised when the destination is a glamorous one.

Betfair, the main sponsor of the challenge, this morning presented the team with a cheque for €25,000.