By Ramesh K Dhiman : Chandigarh, a Haryana lad Pankaj Kumar, romped home with the top honour at the 4th edition of the Chandigarh National Cyclothon, which concluded here on Sunday. The annual event, which was organised under the aegis of The Cycling Federation of India and Chandigarh Administration, in association with Hero Cycles India and Sports-13, witnessed a huge footfalls, with as many as 100 professional cyclists from across the country participating in the event.
The 57.5 km elite segment of the cyclothon event, which remained the cynosure of all inquisitive eyes, was flagged off by Punjab Finance Minister Parminder S Dhindsa. The top winner of the event, Pankaj Kumar bagged a cash award of one lakh, while the first runner of the slot pocketed 60,000, followed by the second runner-up Ganesh Kumar (Mumbai), who got 40,000 at the event.
The other star finishers at the event in order of their positions included Paramjit Singh (from the Services), who notched fourth position, followed by Rahul (Delhi) fifth, Shahid Ahmed Shabbir (Maharashtra) sixth, Karamvir Singh (Haryana) seventh, Swapnil K Mishra (Punjab) eighth, Anoop Kumar (from the Services) ninth and Mallapa (Karnatka), who grabbed tenth position.
The unique feature of the event was a non-competitive fun ride for school kids, adults and others from different age groups, which attracted a sizeable number of enthusiasts from various parts of the region, who attended the sport fiesta braving the biting December chill. The event concluded on a cheery note with the who’s who of the Administration and the host partners in attendance.
Addressing media persons on the concluding day, the Tourism Director, Kashish Mittal, said the administration had been going the whole hog to promote Bike Tourism across Chandigarh, the City of Roses, to make it a dream destination for the visitors from home and abroad by making it all the more clean-n-green. The initiative would not only push it to international map but also inculcate among the city residents to make cycling a way of life.