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5 Puneites to take part in international cycling event

This is the first time that a team from India will participate in the 120-year-old event.

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Five cycling enthusiasts from Pune, including a woman, would be taking part in the oldest cycling event in the world, to be held in France from August 21.

Divya Tate, 44, Vikramsinha Jadhav, 24, Prashant Tidke, 47, Hiren Patel, 24, and Gagan Grover, 28, will represent India at ‘Paris-Brest-Paris’, a long distance endurance cycling event  that covers 1,200 km in 90 hours.

This is the first time that a team from India will be participating in the 120-year-old event that is held in France every four years.
DNA caught up with the gang practising on the University of Pune campus on Tuesday.

“We want to show the world that Indians are not lagging in endurance sports,” said Tidke, a chartered accountant by profession.

According to these cyclists, it took a lot of effort and teamwork to gather the confidence to participate in such an event.

“We used to practice hard cycling around 100 km to 200 km at a stretch to equip ourselves with the skills to ride long distances,” Patel, who will participate in the event with a very ordinary non-geared hero hawk bike, told DNA.

According to him, they ride nearly 50 km in the morning regularly and on weekends they practice by riding more than 100 km.
While speaking about the event in France, Tate, who is the only female in the gang, said, “Unlike Tour De France, this event is not a race. All participants who cover 1,200 km within the time span of 90 hours are considered to be on par.”

When asked what drives them to participate in an event like this, the avid riders said the passion for cycling and the zeal to prove their endurance are reasons good enough to participate in the event. “It is just the passion to thrive that keeps us going,” Tate said.
In spite of being professionals in the corporate world, the ace riders take out time to chase their passion.

“Our passion earns us the support of our respective companies as well. Even they always encourage us to pursue our passion,” Grover said. When asked about the city roads and how safe it is to cycle on them, Tate said, “Cycle tracks in the city are a joke. Design wise, they are a disaster.”

According to them, the city authorities must show more respect to cyclists.

“This will reduce the problems of pollution and busy traffic,” she said.

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