The Ghats of Sahyadri ranges witnessed the most exciting cycling event on 23rd January 2021. ‘The Sahyadri Classic’, Edition- 2 sponsored by ‘Oyster and Pearl Hospitals’ is the most awaited yet dreaded cycling race amongst the deadly Ghats of Sahyadri, where-in participants had to climb 4 Ghats namely Pasarni, Tapola (Twice) and Ambenali as fast as they could.
Recreational categories also included participants in a team of 2 or opting to climb only 2 Ghats. The total distance of the 4 ghats to be climbed was 190kms with a total elevation of 3400+ meters and only 14 hours to complete the race. About 150 participants enthusiastically participated in the event including teenagers, senior citizens and women. Arvind Panwar from Delhi, was the winner for the 4 ghats Men’s Open category challenge who clocked the time of 3hrs 51 mins to complete the race while Sudarshan Devardekar from Pune stood 2nd in the same category finishing in 4hrs 9mins.
For the men’s open masters category, Mahesh Iyer bagged the first place while Ashish Joshi stood 2nd, both the cyclists being from Pune. For the Women’s open category, the podium winners were Anjali Ranwade, Neha Tikam and Ketaki Sathe who completed 2 Ghats namely Pasarni and Ambenali in 2.37 hrs, 2.45hrs and 2.53hrs respectively. All the above winners received a cash prize from the organizers.
Overall it was a very well organized event enjoyed by one and all. The organizers will soon announce more such races happening in and around Pune.
