6,000 cyclists pedal in Chandigarh

As many as 6,100 enthusiastic people, including 50 top cyclists some of whom are taking part in the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games, on Sunday participated in an 'India Cyclothon' in Chandigarh.

The participants from different age groups and diverse walks of life took part in the fourth edition of the cyclothon under the aegis of the Cycling Federation of India.

There were different category races -- 60 km national elite race, corporate ride of 20 km, green ride of 10 km, amateur ride of 20 km and kids ride for children between 8 and 13 years of 5 km.

Cricketer Virendra Sehwag flagged off the kids ride but he hastily left the venue after some mediapersons approached him.

C Rajan was the winner of 60 km race.

"I am pursuing cycling for the last 10 years. I am using a very sophisticated Italy-made bicycle that is only used by professional cyclists. It weighs only 7.5 kg and costs around Rs.450,000," Rajan told reporters after winning the race.

India Cyclothon was jointly organised by Sport18, the sports marketing division of the Network18 group, and Hero Cycles. This mega event has also marked the onset of the Chandigarh world tourism week from Sep 26 to October 1.

Organisers provided a t-shirt, a safety reflective jacket, a cycling helmet and a bag to each participant. They also attracted city residents to the cyclothon by providing cycles on rent.

S S Dhindsa, the president of the Cycling Federation of India, said: "We are overwhelmed to see such encouraging response from Chandigarh people. Our federation will organise more such cycling events in this part of the country in the coming months."