Thaindian News

Mumbai, April 24 (IANS) Over 6,000 people, including actor Imran Khan, model Nicole Faria and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan Sunday participated in various races in the ‘BSA Hercules India Cyclothon - Mumbai 2011′ signalling the city’s commitment to a greener and cleaner tomorrow.

Jointly organised by Sport18, the sports marketing division of Network18 group and TI Cycles, the makers of of BSA and Hercules cycles, the event witnessed active participation across a wide cross-section of the society and the best of national cyclists competing for top honours.

This included 118 participants for the Elite National Race, 2,871 participants for LG Green Ride, 1,632 participants for the Corporate Ride, 1,651 participants for Dabur Nutrigo Total Amateur’s Ride for Health and 768 for the Junior Ride.

The first ride of the Cyclothon, the elite national race was won by Amandeep from Indian Railways, who won a prize of Rs.1.5 lakh. Rakesh Kumar, also from Railways came in second and took home a purse of Rs.80,000. Sachin Kumar from Delhi won the third place and a prize of Rs.60,000.

Lending his support to the initiative was Chavan, who inaugurated the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) cycling track in suburban Bandra.

A special ceremonial lap was held around Bandra Kurla complex featuring Miss Earth 2010 Nicole Faria, F1 racer Karun Chandok, MP Milind Deora in addition to the participants from all walks of life, including amateur cyclists, professionals, housewives and school children.

The Cyclothon also had Bollywood actor Imran Khan present on the occasion in support of charity of animal welfare.

“We thank all the Mumbaikars for supporting the BSA Hercules India Cyclothon whole-heartedly and appreciate the efforts of all our special guests for making the event memorable,” said Satish Menon, CEO of Sport18.

“The overwhelming response from Mumbaikars has proven that Mumbai is indeed India’s foremost cycling city. Year-on-year, the Cyclothon has received tremendous response from cycling enthusiasts across the country and we are committed to taking this event to newer heights in the coming years,” said D. Raghuram, president of TI Cycles.