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3 generations, 1 finish line: How the Mumbai-Pune road shaped cyclists from this family

In 1960, a 23-year-old Dashrath Pawar took part in his first Mumbai-Pune race and won. He followed it up with victories in 1972, 1973, and even in 1977 at the age of 40.

4 min readJan 27, 2026 01:26 PM IST

The first picture is of Dashrath Pawar (black and white). The second picture is of his sons- Santosh and Vishal. (Express photo)

Santosh Pawar stood among the crowd watching the pack of cyclists cross the finish line at Balgandharva Rangmandir on J M Road on the final day of the recent Pune Grand Tour. Most of the names on the jerseys, foreign and Indian, were unfamiliar to him.

But the finish line was cherished: it was the one his father, Dashrath, had raced past to win the iconic Mumbai-Pune cycling race in a blaze of glory not once, but four times in the last century.

Dashrath’s heroics had a lasting impact on Santosh, 55, and his brother, Vishal, 52, who have carried on the cycling legacy by winning races at different levels. In fact, Vishal himself won the Mumbai-Pune race in 2000, and also made it to the podium in other editions of the event.

Also read | Pune Grand Tour: How a lapsed ‘cycle city’ clinched India’s biggest international cycling race

And now, Santosh’s son, Kedar, has participated in the Maharashtra cycling trials and is eyeing the nationals too, rounding out a three-generation tryst with a sport that exacts maximum effort from the athlete and is yet steeped in neglect.

From a non-geared cycle to a Claude Butler

The Mumbai-Pune race, which started in 1945, originally began from Kala Ghoda in Mumbai. However, given the growing traffic in Mumbai over the years, it now starts from Chembur, reducing the race distance to around 150 kilometre. The highlight of the race is the arduous climb up the 11-km Bor Ghat, and the fastest finisher here earns the title, Ghatacha Raja (King of the Ghats).

Santosh recalls his father taking to competitive cycling after going on a long ride to Lonavala with his cousin, Papa Pawar, who was a three-time winner of the Mumbai-Pune race (1950-1952). In 1960, a 23-year-old Dashrath took part in his first Mumbai-Pune race and won. He followed it up with victories in 1972, 1973, and even in 1977 at the age of 40. To date, he remains the oldest winner of the race.

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Most riders back in the day rode non-geared cycles and wore the now almost-obsolete hairnet helmets, which offered little protection. Dashrath rode a non-geared cycle for a couple of his Mumbai-Pune wins. That’s when his employer, Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited, noticed his talent and gifted him a foreign geared cycle, a Claude Butler.

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Carrying on the legacy

The Mumbai-Pune race was obviously shorn of the high-level organisation, great roads, and winner’s prize money that the Pune Grand Tour flaunted, but the energy and excitement more than made up for it.

“Each race would attract around 60-70 riders from various parts of the country. Crowds would line the sides of the old Mumbai-Pune highway to watch the cyclists roll into the city. Some of the riders were employees of factories in the then-bustling Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial belt, and their colleagues would take a break from work to egg them on,” Santosh says.

Santosh remembers his father, now no more, grooming him into the sport. “I was still in school when he would accompany me on his cycle during my rides, which were of at least 50 km. As I grew faster on the cycle, he would accompany me on his motorcycle,” he says.

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Santosh grabbed his first major cycling title at just 17, winning a 14-day stage race from Mumbai to Delhi (1,400 km). He went on to win the Pune-Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani race (150 km), was second in the Mumbai-Nashik race, and narrowly missed a podium placing in the Mumbai-Pune race.

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Even today, Santosh and Vishal, who is a Shiv Chhatrapati awardee, participate in national cycling competitions in their age category.

The Pune Grand Tour was bigger in scale, global too. But the roads, particularly the destination, still remember the legends of recent times who etched their names in the city’s cycling history. And particularly the three generations of the Pawars, who have carried cycling in their blood.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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