In the UK national 12 hour time trial championship, Tejvan Pettinger from the Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team finished in second place with a total of 284 miles. It was Tejvan's first attempt at the distance and it makes a rare double to win both the national Hill climb championship (2013) and gain a medal in the 12 hour championship.
The championship was held on a course in South Wales. It featured an opening leg of 90 miles, before moving onto a 26 mile circuit and finally a finishing lap of 19 miles. The riders had to contend with persistent rain for the last half of the race, which made conditions tough.
![Tejvan waiting at traffic lights on the course](/files/cycling/cycling_images/tejvan-tt-12-hour.jpg)
Speaking of his debut at the 12 hour challenge, Tejvan said:
"The furthest I have ridden this year was 103 miles, so a 12 hour was a step into the unknown. Although it was a national championship, I didn't think too much about the distance or result, but just concentrated on being able to finish the 12 hours and seeing how far I could go. In an event of this duration, you inevitably have good periods, but also difficult times. After two hours, I was already wondering how I would make it, but after these difficult early morning hours I got into a good rhythm and was going really well in the middle of the event. I think I started to enjoy it, despite the pain in the shoulders.
In the last two hours, the persistent rain seeped through and I suffered from the cold quite a lot, but I just about managed to hang on. Although it was tough, I can see the attraction of these long-distance events and am planning how to try and go further next year. Vilas Silverton, a fellow member of Sri Chinmoy CT, did a great job in helping out passing many bottles and energy gels - even though he did a 300km bike ride the day before.
![Vilas in action on cyclo cross bike](/files/cycling/cycling_images/vilas-cyclo-cross_0.jpg)
It was also good to do a 12 hour time trial because every April, the Sri Chinmoy Centre put on a 12 hour walk to mark the anniversary of Sri Chinmoy's arrival in the West, but I never do it because I don't want to interfere with my cycle training, so this is a kind of compensation. In the future I'd like to do a 24 hour time trial, because Sri Chinmoy, with many other members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre, entered a 24 hour cycle challenge in the late 1970s."
Related
- Vilas's blog on a Weekend of cycling - 330km Audax ride + helping out at 12 hour TT
- 12 Hour Results at Cycling Time Trials