200 cyclists take part in Tour de Sanawar

The Sixth edition of Tour de Sanawar, the Annual Cyclothon was held at The Lawrence School, Sanawar in collaboration with The Old Sanawarian Society, the school’s alumni organisation. More than 200 cyclists from 16 schools and more than 20 cities, including Indore, OOTY, Bangalore, Pune, Patiala and Guwahati participated across the four age-categories in this event. With routes ranging from 11 km for those under 14 years to 15 km with a 600-meter elevation gain for the elite category, the cycling enthusiasts navigated a challenging mix of steep ascents, thrilling descents, and sharp turns, testing the skills of the best cyclists. Safety, being the paramount concern of the school and the Old Sanawarian Society, was ensured seamlessly by the team of Marshalls and event officials from Hero Cycles and HASTPA, the sponsors of the cyclothon.

The five-hour long event began at 9:30 am with Himmat Singh Dhillon, Headmaster of The Lawrence School, Sanawar flagging off the first race of the cyclists in the junior category. The last race for the Pro Elite men was flagged off by Major Sanjeev Sharma, Senior Advocate and former President of the Old Sanawarian Society. Delegations from professional cycling organisations such as Hero and Hartek also participated in the cyclothon.

One of the high points of the event of the dare-devil cycle stunt show performed by Prerak Kant from Chattisgarh, an award-winning cycling stunt rider. While Urmi Bhatt of The Lawrence School, Sanawar bagged the first position in the Girls Junior Category (class IX and below), Anirudh Singh of Trinity International School won the race in the Boys Junior category. In the senior category (class X and above) Saarthak Thakur of Stokes Memorial, Shimla bagged the first position in the Boys’ Category. In the Senior Category, Samaira Dhankar of The Lawrence School, Sanawar and Punit Thakur of Stokes memorial School, were the first position holders in the Girls and Boys category respectively. In the Amateurs category, Punya Dutta among females and Aarush Sharma among males won the race. Ayush Negi of SCOTT HASTPA was declared winner in the Elite category. Swastik from Dehradun was awarded the Most Promising Cyclist.