New Delhi: The Pune Grand Tour 2026 was an opportunity for Indian cyclists to test themselves against some of the best in the world. India’s first-ever continental multi-stage UCI road race event brought with it several challenges for the riders, but provided a platform for home riders to learn.

Road cycling is not a popular discipline among elite cyclists who are mostly into track events. Most of the Indian riders competing in the world level competition, which also offered points for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics qualification, were those who do endurance events on the track.

Among the 12 Indian riders, who participated in two teams, Harshveer Singh Sekhon finished as India’s leading performer thus winning the Blue jersey.

“It was the first time that we were competing in such a high level international road competition and against top riders. It was a new discipline for me because I am an international track cyclist. So this race included climbing, descending and the duration would go up to three hours which is tough. I did this event to build up my endurance. In any case we do road training for endurance,” says Sekhon.

“My main goal was to try and finish with the main bunch because I know how hard this level is. I was new, so I didn’t know how to ride in a bunch of 160 riders on a narrow road. It was a bit scary. In the first stage I got caught in the crash. Luckily I didn’t crash and I could save myself. But it impacted the mindset and strategy I had in the race and I was able to finish in the second bunch which was a decent performance for me,” says Sekhon.

“Overall it was a fantastic experience as you get to learn so much from the top riders, the way they navigate the steep gradients and descents. Of course their bikes had better engines but foreign riders were capable of going hard on back-to-back races. I was drafting behind them. They have trained way harder, you need to be realistic where you stand. I have been working hard but it is a slow process. After this competition, I feel I know what I have to work on.”

Sekhon is the first Indian endurance cyclist to compete at the Track Cycling World Championships in 2024. He has already competed at the Asian Games in 2023 in 50km madison, and would be looking to make the cut again through the Asian Championships where he has to finish in top six as per the criteria set by the Sports Ministry.

Another promising Indian rider Vishavjeet Singh, who competed in the Pune event, says there is more focus on road events since foreign coach Maxat Ayazbayev from Kazakhstan took charge last year.

“Our foreign coach was a pro team rider. He has made some changes to our training plans. We are doing some road competitions as well to build power and endurance: So now the focus is both on road and track,” says Singh who is national record holder in individual pursuit and team pursuit events.

“It was a very good experience for me because I have never done stage races before. The only international road race event I competed in was the U23 Asian Championships. It is tough for track cyclists as we generally do 4km races. The last stage in Pune was a flat courseI did well,” he said.

The focus for both will now shift to the Asia Track Cup in Chennai from Thursday. Their target for the year is to qualify for the Asian Games, and for that the Asian Championships will be important.

“We need to be in top 6 in the Asian Championship to directly qualify for the Asian Games or go through the trials and touch the top-6 benchmark to qualify,” says Sekhon.

Both Sekhon and Singh have competed at the Asian Games in 2023 and are confident of making the cut again. Their long term goal is to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and for that the road is tougher. They have to make enough world ranking points to qualify. Sekhon competed in road races around the world, mostly in Europe, to make points and qualify for the World Championships. It is a lot of money to invest. “I spend around ₹20 lakh a year for the sport. It’s difficult at times but my parents are very supportive,” he says.

He used the prize money earned from National Games and National Championships for the purpose. “This time I have changed my strategy. I have limited funds so wherever I go I will go with the aim of finishing higher and earning points. The Track Asia Cup (UCI class 1) in Delhi from August 6-8 will also be a good opportunity to earn points at home towards the LA Games,” says Sekhon who is surprisingly not part of government’s flagship programmes –Target Olympic Podium Scheme or Target Asian Games Group — that provide elite athletes funds to prepare for the two major events.