A WALTHAM Abbey mountain biker believes a £400 district council grant could help him one step closer to his Olympic dream.

Paul Beales, 22, of Joyce Court, started racing at 14 and competes in the expert category at national level.

He hopes to achieve elite status by the end of of the season - setting himself up against the top competitors in the country - before moving on to international competions within two years.

He said: "Ultimately I would like to take part in the Olympic Games, in Beijing 2008 and particularly in London 2012."

But competing costs money - for clothing, kit, tyres, chains, other parts and maintenance, food supplements, event entry and travel costs to races from Scotland to Switzerland.

Epping Forest District Council awarded him a special small grant as part of its leisure bursary scheme.

Paul, an IT analyst, said: "I'm constantly struggling to live on my wages and pay the huge costs this sport incurs. I do this only by cutting back on everything else.

"There was a time when I tried to do two jobs - my day job and working in the evening behind the bar. But with training as well it was just impossible. To be honest I didn't think I'd get anything. It will really help to take some of the stress away."

He cycles from his home in Waltham Abbey to work in Cuffley, Hertfordshire, every morning. After work he trains three hours each night and most weekends are spent at race events.

He started his own team, Orange Monkey, in 2004.

"When we started, we had no kit or anything. We've got our own kit now, we paid for it ourselves and we're getting more publicity. We had an article about our training camp on the British Cycling Federation website. It's starting to take off, but its really hard without any backing. And with training and a full-time job its hard to find the time' to look for sponsorship."

Despite all the sacrifices - he can't play his second love football because it could damage his knees for cycling - he said: "Why do I do it? Stupidity. No, I just get a lot of satisfaction out of completing different challenges - beating your own time or getting to the top of a climb that's quite hard, or when you cross the finish line in first - it's always a really good feeling.

"I'm the kind of person that would get bored if I don't have something like that to work for."

He is also keen to see the sport promoted and to encourage more youngsters to take part.

"It's a fantastic sport, and it's about having fun. But it's not particularly well known. I would like to see more people involved, but it's difficult for youngsters because of the costs involved.

"You can't get a part-time job because you're away racing most weekends. I was lucky to have my parents backing. We're hoping to be able to get some youngsters on to the team soon."