Pune: Meet 30-year-old Meerut born cyclist Arvind Panwar who is making a name in cycling at the international level.

Arvind has conquered titles in South Asian Games, World Railways, Asian Championships, World Road Championship-2016, Kermesse race in Belgium and many more. Recently, International cyclist and former South Asian Games Gold medallist Arvind dominated to win the ONP Sahyadri Classic Cycle Race. He bagged the King of Jawli title to register a new course record.

The event, with 210 km competitive distance, started with four challenging ghat sections in Mahableshwar, attracted the participation of 140 cyclists from major parts of the country.

The most dreaded Ambenali ghat, with a total distance of 32 km, the longest in Western Ghat, was most challenging for participants. The ghat section that leads to Pratapgad was the concluding part of the event. The dense forest of Jawli provided breathtaking surroundings.

Arvind proved his prowess in this section, becoming the only cyclist to complete the race in less than 1 hour 30 min. He also was the only participant to achieve a total time under the four hours mark. Arvind, a native of Meerut, currently works in Eastern Railway.

After the win, Arvind said, “The criteria of time of descending is ideal, as one can pedal in a relaxed manner. This is only such format in the country. Also, the highest degree of the climb is another highlight, which contributes to preparation for tougher international tournaments. The race contributes a lot in boosting endurance level.”

Dr Avinash Phadnis, organiser and title sponsor, pedalled for a total of eight hours to achieve the honour of finisher at the age of 60. Prashant Tidke, who underwent angioplasty last year, also participated and completed the race successfully.

The women's category saw the participation of eight entries, out of which six completed the race. Anjali Ranavade from Nerul, Navi Mumbai won this category. The second edition of the race, with a total prize pool of 3,50,000 was sponsored by Oyster & Pearl hospitals. Event co-ordinator Dr Aditya Ponkshe praised the volunteers while Technical Head, Siddharth Hivarekar conducted the event.