Bhubaneswar: The state witnessed its first ever professional cycling race Monday.
The event was conducted by Bhubaneswar Cycling and Adventure Club (BCAC) and covered the historical Golden Triangle of Bhubaneswar- Puri- Konark.
The race was a humongous success with more than 50 participants from across the country including from the state participating in it.
The 151-km-long route was planned over a stretch extending from the Dhauli Peace Pagoda to Malatipatpur and to Chandrabhaga in Konark and back.
The race was flagged off by Additional Director General (ADG) (Law & Order) and President of BCAC, Sanjeeb Panda, at 6 am from the famous Ashoka Pillar at Dhauli hill base.
With a gruelling neck-to-neck competition, Parshuram Choudhury became the winner of the 1st Edition of Golden Triangle Road Race (2019). Parshuram clocked in 4 hours 47 minutes and 23 seconds thereby earning cash reward of Rs 20,000. The 1st Runners-Up Aditya Singh finished close with a timing of 5 hours 47 minutes and 32 seconds taking home cash reward of Rs 10,000.
Both Parshuram and Aditya are from Rourkela.
The 2nd Runners-Up finished close with a timing of 5 hours 50 minutes and 52 seconds and bagged a cash reward of Rs 5,000.
It may be mentioned here that three consolation prizes with cash rewards of Rs 5,000 each were also provided on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Sanjeeb Panda said, “Odisha has a vast scope for adventure cycling and professional races, which is yet to be explored. BCAC, as one of the forward-thinking organisations, has introduced professional cycling race in Odisha for the first time.” Stating that the race will continue as an annual event of BCAC, he mentioned that apart from conventional road cycling races, they are also planning to introduce MTB race in future.
BCAC has introduced long distance endurance cycling of international repute in the recent past. The club conducted 200-km and 300-km Brevets in 2018. Apart from cycling, BCAC also promotes marathon running, coastal trekking, mountain hiking and international cycling adventures.