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
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
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."
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