Mysuru The 12^th edition of Tour of Nilgiris (TfN), the largest & most loved bike tours in India and also the flagship event of Ride-A-Cycle Foundation (RAC-F), successfully concluded at Mysuru this evening with cyclists on the eighth day pedaling 90 kms from Udhagamandalam (Ooty) through Pykara, Naduvattam and Gudalur. TfN 2019 with a contingent of 60 cyclists had pedaled 850+ kms around the pristine Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve across Western Ghats, winding through Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu.

 

On successfully completing the tour, Deepak Majipatil, Co-Founder, RAC-F, said, “The 12^th edition of TfN posed many challenges and we could overcome these owing to unstinted & dedicated support from riders, volunteers and sponsors. Like every edition, the 12^th edition had a surprise element in the form of a new destination added to the route, namely Chikmagalur, which gave an opportunity for the riders to pedal past Belur and Halebidu.” Further, he added, we are eagerly looking forward to plan our next edition and offer cyclists yet another new experience.

 

While on one end, the tour offered great cycling tourism opportunity across some of the pristine territory which varied across each stage of the tour, at the other end mighty mountains – especially the Kalhatti Ghat – tested the endurance of riders. Riders had come to this tour with the determination to conquer Kalhatti Ghat and almost 80% of the riders successfully climbed it. Kiran Kumar Raju was given the King of Kalhatti title for climbing it in 1:08:15.39, while Dr. Avanti Biniwale was given the Queen of Kalhatti title for climbing it in 2:20:26.20.

 

Likewise, in the competitive section the winners were as follows:

 

Overall Category:

1) Kiran Kumar Raju – 1:01:56.88

2) Dipankar Paul – 1:05:38.85

3) Venkateswara Rao Navanasi – 1:09:43.77

 

Men’s Category (Under 45 years of age)

1) Kiran Kumar Raju – 1:01:56.88

2) Dipankar Paul – 1:05:38.85

3) Venkateswara Rao Navanasi – 1:09:43.77

 

Veteran’s Category (over 45 years of age)

1) Tarun Kumar- 1:16:39.69

2) Murali Ramakrishnan- 1:22:59.87

3) Pradeep Nair- 1:28:46.82

 

Women’s Category

1) Avanti Biniwale – 1:33:04.89

2) Dhanashri Bapat- 1:37:07.87

3) Anne Susan Zachariah – 2:18:15.66