Pune: Atul Kumar finally struck gold in one of the highest prize-money cycling event in the country when he blasted his way through the finish line in a three-way contest in the 153-km long 50th Mumbai-Pune Cycle Race for Rashtrawadi Chashak, at the Sambhaji Park here on Sunday.
Atul Kumar of MIRC Patiala, an academy that breeds best of cyclists for the Indian team for international events, cranked up speed midway through the race after first two titles had gone to other riders, to win the King of Bhor Ghat title.
Atul rode the seven-km stretch he completed in 22 minutes and 37.93 seconds beating Amit Kumar of Indian Air Force and Omkar Jadhav of Mumbai to the second and third places respectively.
The title earned him Rs 31,000 in addition to the Mumbai-Pune title that made him rich by Rs 1 lakh, enhanced from Rs 65,000 won by the winner of the 49th edition in 2010.
In a three-man battle for the honours after the top cyclists crossed Karla caves just after Lonavala, it was Omkar and Atul who first made the charge. Amit was running close behind, but a kilometre after the Indian Air Force cyclist closed in to make the contest even more interesting.
Atul, who was part of the Indian team for the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, where he finished 15th in 30-km Points Race on a velodrome track, however, wasn’t giving up on Sunday. As the three continued wheel-to-wheel all the way till the finish line, Atul finished ahead of the two by mere half-wheel length sending the onlookers in a frenzy.
This was Atul’s major win in recent times and a riposte to the national selectors who omitted him from the national team that toured Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the 32nd Asian Cycling Championship in February 2012.
It was Amit Kumar, who had travelled to Kuala Lumpur along with other seasoned cyclists. India team members Amit and Central Railway’s Harpreet Singh took part, while others gave a miss to the Mumbai-Pune Race.
Karnataka’s Shridhar Savnur came in fourth, while Rajendra Bishnoi of Rajasthan and Harpreet Singh finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Karnataka’s Madhav Halapoz won the Prime of Panvel title for his 44 minutes 01.00 seconds effort and was followed by Niket Patil of Raigad and Uttam Nale of Central Railway.
Rahul Borde, the winner of Chennai Cyclothon in February won the Prime of Khopoli title, crossing the ghat in 1 hour 41 minutes and 15 seconds; while Prime of Kamshet title went to Amit Kumar, who crossed it in 2 hours, 45 minutes and 20 seconds.
Earlier, of the 155 entries, 120 took the starting orders at Gateway of India where Dilip Valse-Patil flagged off the race in presence of Chhagan Bhujbal, the minister of Public Works.
At the finish line, Mayor Vaishali Bankar and MLA Anil Bhosale, Anna Thorat, former president of Nationalist Congress Party, Pune, Chandrakant Shirole, treasurer of Malarashtra Olympic Association, and Maharashtra Cycling Association secretary, Pratap Jadhav, were present.
RESULTS
Mumbai-Pune Cycle race: 1. Atul Kumar (MIRC, Patiala) 3 hrs 52.59s, 2. Amit Kumar (Air Force), 3. Omkar Jadhav (Mumbai), 4. Shridhar Savnur (Karnataka), 5. Rajendra Bishnoi (Rajasthan), 6. Harpreet Singh (Central Railway).
Prime of Panvel: 1. Madav Halapoz (Karnataka; 44 minutes 01.00 seconds), 2. Niket Patil (Raigad), 3. Uttam Nale (Central Railway).
Prime of Khopoli: 1. Rahul Borde (South-Western Railway; 1 hour 41.15 seconds), 2. Sangmesh Talvar (Karnataka), 3. Rajendra Bishnoi (Rajasthan).
King of Ghat (Bhor Ghat, 7-km): 1. Atul Kumar 22 minutes 37.93 seconds, 2. Amit Kumar, 3. Omkar Jadhav.
Prime of Kamshet: 1. Amit Kumar (Air Force; 2 hours 45.20 seconds), 2. Omkar Jadhav (Mumbai), 3. Atul Kumar (MIRC, Patiala).
By Indian Sports News Network