Geraint Thomas has raised £325,000 for the UK's National Health Service as a result of his 36-hour bike ride over the past three days.

Thomas, from Wales, did three 12-hour rides (shifts) on his home trainer to mirror standard shifts for NHS health workers dealing with a coronavirus outbreak.

Starting on Wednesday, Thomas completed his last shift on Friday evening. Donations continued to come in, and by Saturday morning, the total reached 326,000 pounds, more than triple the original goal.

All of the donations will go to NHS Charities Together, a collective of 140 NHS charities at a time when the publicly funded healthcare system in the UK is being stretched to the limit by the pandemic.

Thomas posted a message on social media on Friday evening with a picture of himself eating beer and curry, saying: 'Thank you for all your support and donations, it means a lot.

Thomas did not reveal the full statistics of his run, but he said he covered about 420 km on the first day, averaging 35 km/h. On the last day, he was unable to sit for long periods of time, so even if his speed slowed down, he would have run more than 1,000 km in 36 hours.

"I'm looking forward to taking a shower and eating bagpies down there," Thomas joked in an interview with the BBC after the last day of work.

"The amazing thing is that we've raised so much money, I thought £50,000 was a good target but someone on the team thought we should aim for the stars and go for £100,000. To triple that is amazing."

"A huge thank you to everyone who donated with me, but the biggest thanks goes to everyone who works at the NHS," Thomas added. Their dedication and what they are doing means so much to everyone and to the country as a whole."

Click here for a link to Thomas' fundraising page (opens in new tab).