The marathon man of Shropshire cycling has a national title to his name.

Andy Bason produced an epic display to be crowned National 12 hour Time Trial champion on Sunday.

And his victory was all the sweeter as it came in his home county with the championships held on the roads of Shropshire and south Cheshire.

Bason, who lives in Shawbirch, Telford, covered 302.75 miles in a half day to finish almost four miles clear of his nearest challenger.

“It was a fantastic day,” said the 41-year-old, who is a welder by trade and only took up cycling in 2006.

“I have finished second and third in different national championships over the last few years and won the Welsh 12 hour championships.

“But to win a big national event was very special – and I was chuffed to do it in Shropshire.”

Bason produced his stunning display on a route which covered areas of Prees, Telford, Shrewsbury and Market Drayton.

And he admitted he had been forced to battle through the pain barrier before he could contemplate victory.

“It was tough but you just have to block out of your mind how far you are riding for,” added Bason,a former Wrekin Sports star who now rides for Norwich-based Team Pedal Revolution.

“There was a point after four-and-a-half hours where I just wanted to stop.

“But then I thought I love riding my bike and there isn’t many chances I get to ride for the whole day so I wanted to make the most of it.”

It was initially believed that Bason’s performance had broken the national record for distance covered in a 12-hour time trial.

But news filtered through that leading performer Geoff Jones had racked up 305 miles in a similar event staged on the same day in Cardiff.

“Geoff started at 6.30am and I started at 7.05am so I didn’t even hold the record for a few minutes,” said Bason. “But it didn’t knock the gloss off the day at all.”