On the International World Bicycle Day, the velodrome in the Guru Nanak Dev University has become a big draw for cyclists.
They are using the current off season to hit the practice tracks. They cycle around 2,500 km on road during a month to increase endurance but the focus shifts as per the requirement. For instance, a competition covering 20 km sees cyclists cover the exact same distance daily.
The University is set to celebrate World Bicycle Day on Sunday. Rajesh Kaushik, university coach with 17 years of experience, says the institution has 40 imported cycles of its own. At present, around 50 players in different age categories are honing their skills in the rather expensive sport.
A beginner requires a cycle which costs around Rs 2.5 lakh and the price tag goes up to Rs 8 lakh for competitions. Bicycles imported from Europe and considered the best in the international market, while in Asia, Taiwan is the leading manufacturer.
Over six months ago, he was joined by nursery coach Bhupinder Kumar from Punjab Sports department in catching the players young.
Three hours on roads in the morning and running, gym work, strength exercise, body strengthening exercises remain the major focus for cyclists. The first All India Inter-University Championship was held at the velodrome here in 2010. Players say cycling is a tough competition, but it is result-oriented. Kaushik himself represented India as a coach in 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 Asian Championship. Himself a national gold medalist in juniors and silver medaliast in the All-India inter University championship, he has mentored several national and international players who are now employed with different government departments.
Dr Kanwar Mandeep Singh, Director Sports Department at Guru Nanak Dev University, said the velodrome’s key objective was to impart world-class training facilities to players and the university was committed to maintaining it.
