India’s biggest cycling event held in Mumbai by BSA
India’s first ever international cycling event, BSA Hercules India Cyclothon and Being Human Tour De Mumbai , held 
at Bandra Reclamatio on Sunday, February 21, received tremendous response, with enthusiasts from all walks of life such as international cyclists, national cyclists, amateur cyclists, cycling aficionados, working professionals, housewives and school children participating, thereby adding color and fervour to the whole experience.
Sport18, the sports marketing division of the Network18 group and ID Sports, a sports management company, have 
joined hands with TI Cycles and the Salman Khan Foundation- Being Human to launch this mega event.”The fantastic response we received through the BSA Hercules India cyclothon held in Mumbai today is a stepping stone towards putting India on the international cycling map. Such events will boost our country’s efforts to contribute further to a healthier and greener world which we, as a developing nation, aim to achieve.” says Dr. Raghuram, president, TI Cycles.
R Gopalakrishnan, executive director — Tata Sons, said, “The Tata group has a longstanding belief in improving the quality of life of the communities we serve. We believe that one part of improving the quality of life includes empowering communities to make informed decisions on their health and environment. Our association with the ‘Mumbai cyclothon’ is an effective and active platform that raises awareness on the importance of a clean environment and good health for a better tomorrow.”
The best riders from the Elite Men National category will be trained under the guidance of John Gloster, Director – ID Sports and physio – Rajasthan Royals to compete with international riders in the near future. The race and selection of riders was governed by David McQuaid, Race director for the event.
Our main aim of promoting cycling through the Being Human Tour De Mumbai – Mumbai Cyclothon is to bring professional international cycling to India. Moreover it’s the best and easiest way to keep your heart healthy and fight the increasing risk of heart diseases that seems to be plaguing our people at a very young age”, says Dr. Akil Khan, chairman and managing director, ID sports, adding a health and fitness dimension to this event. On this occasion, ID Sports launched India’s first healthcare online portal, Topdoctorsonline.com that intends to enable rural India to have access to the best doctors in the country through the portal.
Speaking at this event, Satish Menon, CEO of Sport18 said, “The BSA Hercules India Cyclothon – Mumbai chapter provided the amateur riders an excellent opportunity to cycle on the Mumbai’s latest landmark – The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, thus inspiring and motivating a lot of the youngsters to consider the sport seriously. In the coming years, we intend to take the India Cyclothon nation-wide, and contribute towards a healthy and pollution-free India.”
Endorsed by the cycling legend, Eddy Merckx, a five-time Tour De France winner and recipient of the highest honors in cycling, the cyclothon was guided under the medical supervision of John Gloster, Physio – Rajasthan Royals and Victor Popov, five-time official physio of Tour De France and consultant physio to the Australian Cricket Team.
David McQuaid, Race Director – UCI said, “I am delighted to see such an overwhelming response in India for cycling as a sport. This event has been executed in an excellent way by the organizers – Sport 18 and ID Sports. This is the first time UCI has permitted for an international race in India and I am very happy to direct the same.”
In addition to TI Cycles as the title sponsor for Mumbai Cyclothon, various other Corporates extended their association and participation in the event. Some of leading brands from corporate India namely Provogue, Union Bank of India,ICICI Lombard Health Insurance, Tata Group, Gitanjali, Reebok, Gatorade, Nature Valley, Volini, Nokia, Lilavati, Times of India, Bisleri, Gold’s Gym, Trident, MTV, CNBC-TV18,CNN-IBN, Bright Outdoors, Lilavati Hospitals, Topspin and John Gloster were on-board as partners. The KBS foundation in an indication of its support to cyclothon organized a Car-Free Day at Carter Road today. Partners like Red FM, Cinemax, Reebok and Café Coffee Day in the lead up to the event engaged with their consumers through in-house promotional activities.
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20 Responses to “India’s biggest cycling event held in Mumbai by BSA”
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Imagine how much fuel could be saved if every major city took to cycling rather than driving?
I want to add the missing part of this news…
Salman Khan kicked off the mega event with other celebrities. The environment is one of Khan’s big concerns; nothing could really be more human or humane.
Salman and his brother Sohail cycled across Bandra Mumbai to the applause and cheers of his fans. Sister Arpita got a ride by Sohail and favorite nephew got a ride behind Salman.
On Salman’s Facebook profile for “Being Human” the call to action reads; “Burn fat not fuel” and invites the organization’s almost 70,000 fans to participate with Khan.
Tour De Mumbai!!! wow …nice name..Is it going to be India’s answer to the Tour De France..being a cycling enthusiast i am really happy to see the indernational cycling spirits coming to India….Congratts to Ti Cycles and Network 18 for this wonderfull intiative.
These intiatives defenitly going to make riding and owning a cycle a cool thing in India…den young people like us can cycle to our office with out hesitation.
NIce..thats some thing i wanted to see on indian roads.. a Tour de Mumbai….cycling enthusiasts have some thing to cheer about. And in this world of renewable energy forms and pollution free automobiles, cycle stands as an option for short distance pollution free, cheap and healthy option.
We don,t have good and safe bicycle routes in cities….without that how can some one take up cycling seriously????????
Events like this can change the attitude of people towards using cycle in their daily life rather than burning fuel. As more people resort to cycling I believe safe bicycle routes will also be developed.
Well, it’s a wonderful initiative… but the trend of cycling in India has miles to go (I am talking about professional cycling)… People get too carried away with automobiles to give heed to this pollution-free, easily-accessible transport… To popularise cycling, the first step should be providing safe roads to the cyclists.. Unfortunately, we don’t have many such roads in India.
The overwhelming success of this event shows the changing attitude of youth towards cycling… I feel more and more young people start using cycle as a mode of short transportation … But still there is a low level of prestige associated with cycling…
For people especially with desk jobs, some kind of daily exercise to maintain a healthy work-life balance is a must. Working out in a gym or engaging in such activities on a daily basis requires dedication and time out of their busy schedule. Instead, people can be encouraged to use cycles more often as a mode of transportation for short-distances, even commutation to office if possible.
For this, people should be firstly educated about its benefits and their attitude towards bicycles as a low-prestige means of transportation need to be changed. I am sure there will be a lot of people like me, who would love to commute to office by cycle, but would not dare do so, just because of the fright of being mocked at by others. Secondly, the government should realize the importance and advantages of cycling and provide proper roads and infrastructure in order to encourage such an approach.
Great event ……i mean event like these would nt help our environment but also aware ppl to be more & more eco friendly….Also a big credit to vahini team who lets us read such articles and always be aware of the happenings of the automobile industry… Cheers guys …….
i agree with siju… that’s true…our image may get spoiled if we ride a HERCULES or BSA to office….thing is that we had enough of it during our school days…other brands like Trek and Adidas are too costly.
Hello,
Its nice to see such a wonderful event. I still remember my old days when I used to ride a BSA. Wish it a grand success!!
All said and done so far is good……!!!
Is Mr.Ramesh ( Sr. Mgr at Cisco ) ready for cycling…….!! Is Ms.Smita ( HR Head at TCS ) ready for cycling !!! Is Dr.Kalmakar ( Heart Specialist ) ready for cycling !!!!! Is Mr. Nitin ( Territory Manager at hyundai ) ready for cycling !!!! so on and so forth !!! The list is endless……
Lets be very practical…..You can’t ask any of the above mentioned gentlemen/women to cycle on a BSA for a healthy life…..Its just asking Wayne Rooney to travel from England to Wales on a Train…..as the Flight for such small duration may increase the pollution and make a hole in the skies…. What are we discussing about……!!!! Sorry to say, in todays world a Rooney may take a train if its a special train after the name of Rooney itself …like Rooney’s Lounge or something……
I know you all may not buy this idea but ….U need to make consumer of today feel special……He can’t just ride any cycle with just any name………For god sake …cycle maker needs to mature enough to get the people of Today’s India feel special…..and please don’t use the same old name……we need fresh Idea and i think we all have one in educating the people of today’s india about cycling …therefore packaging needs to be different with unique and fresh identity…….Not just any Hercules would do…..Why Swift is called a Swift ?? Maruti Employees also don’t know….but it worked out well for the organization……Please gear up for uniqueness now with fresh air of innovation……..Neways…Good Going guys….keep up the good work…!!!!! Thumbs Up …OOPS, again a unique identity….!!!!
Shows India has come of age , Cycle was a mode of transport for a family man next above it was Bajaz chetak Pre Liberalization( Before 1990). Now people ride it for fitness health and now a move towards cycling race (Sports) .
A event like this shows cycle which was a common mans transport(Before 1990) has changed its role .
The cycle is regarded by many of us Indians as laborer class, a poor man’s mode of transport. Or is it? The next time you’re near a bicycle store, pop in and ask for the price of a geared bicycle. While it won’t burn a hole in your pocket, some of these mean machines cost anywhere between INR 3,000 and 40,000. You heard it right! This humble invention of mankind has made a resu’rgence. What started out as a single speed ungainly contraption with 2 wheels and a bucket-like seat in the 1800s has undergone a metamorphosis. Over the years, this vehicle of transport has been redesigned and engineered to its new avatars—the 21-geared carbon/aluminum framed aerodynamic models with mind boggling features. These hot bikes give “coolness” a new dimension.
Amazing… Cycling is back and that too with a bang. This event is also helping needed people.
Its really very good to organise, participate and have such kinds of event in a country which is growing exponentially in population and pollution..We might have different views from different people, but the idea here i guess is not to make somebody unboard a luxuries wagon and hop on to poor man’s conveyance but it is all out about realisation, may be Mr Cisco and Mrs TCS would not come to work on a cycle but how many Mr Cisco and Mr TCS do we have in the country and how many others.
Also i think if we ride a bicycle to work, we might be a matter of instant humor for some, but people with vision and intellect would undrestand and appreciate the efforts. Sooner or later everyone would have offsprings, wont we all want them to live in a clean and healthy enviroment. Im not trying to oppose anyone all i m trying to say is that change is necessary. I cant stop myself from quoting someone who once said after landing on the moon ” A small step for man, a giant leap for mankind.”. Initiatives like this are capable of bringing about a change in thinking of a mass………. good work guys !! YOU ROCK !! cheers
Nice event! Good cause! And Great venue! Though the cycling in India has been favourite for aam admi since beginning of commuting, the changing lifestyle has forced us to switch to faster wheels. Now big names and corporates are promoting it for a healthier future is really a thing to appreciate. Association of Salman Khan has added glamour on the event, which ultimately going to help the cause.
I liked the event, an initiative worth praising, for more than one reasons. This reminded me of my childhood when we felt like kings when we were riding our cycles.
All said and done, Cycling in India has a great future. All the best to all associated with the cause.
I love to take up cycling for fitness…planning to get one soon
Indian cycle industry barely grown over the last 10 years with volumes just about increasing from 11 million units to 12 million. In fact it was a tough time for any cycle manufacturers here. What we have read here is the clear indication of the end of this challenging time.