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Journalism of Courage
PUNE, April 11: Up and coming cyclist Sachin Maruti Jadhav of Pune added yet another feather to his cap today when he won the Pune-Alandi-Pune 50 km cycle race for Roadster bikes. The race formed part of the 300th birth anniversary celebrations of the Khalsa Panth and was conducted by the Maharashtra Cycling Association.
The last 100 metres before the finish line witnessed a keen battle in which Sachin whizzed past the competition, clocking 1 hour 15 minutes and 40 seconds, 20 seconds ahead of Sanjay Ozarkar from Lonavala who in turn was 10 seconds ahead of closest rival Nilesh.
In a healthy response, 145 enthusiasts lined up for the starter’s command. These included 38 participants from Mumbai, Lonavala and Sangli. The race was flagged off in front of the BJ Medical College ground at 7.45 a.m. by Annasaheb Thorat, chairman of the Akhil Mandai Mandal. The initial stage of the race remained at a steady pace with the cluster pedalling together. Turning on to Deccan College Road, a bunch of 25 cyclists began to slowly break away fighting to gain an early lead among the flower petals that were showered on them at this point.
Reaching Alandi, near the Sant Dyaneshwar Maharaj Samadhi, which was the half way mark, the riders turned back for Pune heading for the starting point.
The return route saw fierce competition among the bunch of 25. An unfortunate accident occurred when one of the riders collided with a passing two wheeler.
Near the Koregaon Park bridge near Blue Diamond the pace quickened further. In their enthusiasm two more riders collided with each other, thereby putting themselves out of contention.
The leaders began to thin out and six riders including Sachin, Sanjay Ozarkar, Nilesh Jadhav, Flloyd Vaz and Bhushan Dhotre took command. From here on it was a battle to the finish. From a field of 145 only 32 riders crossed the finish line. The winner received a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 5000, while the first and second runners-up received trophies alongwith cash rewards of Rs 3000 and 2000 respectively. The next five received cash vouchers worth Rs 1100 and the next ten received Rs 500 each.
Results: 1. Sachin M Jadhav (Pune) 1:15.40; 2. Sanjay Ozarkar (Lonavala) 1:15.60; 3. Nilesh Jadhav (Lonavala) 1:15.70; 4. Flloyd Vaz (Mumbai); 5. Bhushan Dhotre (Mumbai); 6. Santosh Khadke (Pune); 7. Manoj Soude (Ulhasnagar); 8. Sajid Sayyed (Sangli).
