As fun as mountain biking looks, or any kind of cycling championship for that matter, it is quite difficult and requires a lot of hardwork and dedication. Here are some of Indias best male MTB champions.
1.Kiran Kumar Raju
Two-time Mountain Bike (MTB) Indian National Champion, Kiran Kumar Raju has been cycling since 2011. The Bengaluru boy took up the sport of cycling full time in the beginning of 2015, and has since participated in 123 races till last year. He has also finished on the podium in 76 races, out of which 41 were first place across Road races, MTB and Duathlons.
2.Devender Thakur
A 26-year-old full-time competitive cross-country mountain biker from Himachal Pradesh, Devender has participated in multiple events to become the champion that he is today. Devender recently secured 2nd place in the Bangalore Mountain Festival. The enigmatic athlete has also won at Hero MTB Himalaya, 2016.
3.Esow Alben
Esow Alben is one amongst the recent crop of Indian cyclists who have tasted some great success at the international level. A 19 year old track cyclist from the island of Andaman and Nicobar, Alben came to the limelight when he became the first Indian to win a medal at the Cycling World Championships. He competed in the mens Keirin event at the 2018 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championship held at Switzerland. The youngster has since gone to showcase some jaw dropping performances and has established himself as one of the top Indian cyclists.
4.Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam
This is yet another youngster who has made great progress at the international level in recent times. An 18 year old who specializes in track cycling, he was named after the footballing legend Ronaldo. He rose to fame during the 2019 Track Asia Cup after securing four gold medals Junior Keirin, Sprint, 1k Time Trial and Team Sprint. Ronaldo along with Alben, Jemsh Singh and Rojit Singh was a part of the Indian team which had qualified for the 2020 UCI Track World Championship in Berlin. He has also held the world number 1 rank in Mens Junior Individual sprint, Mens Junior 1k Time Trail and Mens Junior Keirin at the same time during January 2020.
5.Amit Samarth
Amit Samarth is a 40 year old endurance cyclist. He became the first Indian and the first ever Asian to complete the Trans-Siberian Extreme in the year 2018 as a 38 year old. The Trans-Siberian Extreme is a 9,100km bicycle ride and is well known to put the human endurance to the toughest of tests. Amit finished the race in 25 days and cycled for 58 consecutive hours at one point.
6.Shiven Aerohawk
An engineer by education and an MTB racer by profession, this youngster is on a mission to outdo himself with every race. He's won the MTB Shimla three times in a row [student's category], MTB Nationals in 2015 [Junior's category], and second place at a cross country cycling event at the Bangalore Mountain Festival. Given his age, these are only a few accolades in a list that only seems to be growing.
These inspiring young men continue to light the dreams of many other young boys who aspire to become just like them.
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