CRANK with ProCycle - October 2014

ISSUE 9 VOL 2 OCTOBER 15TH 2014

INSIDE

EUROBIKE 2014 THE TOUR OF CHINA I GIANT DEFY 5 REVIEWED

The aluminum link construction delivers some major benefits. It’s compressionless, which means precision braking, but it also allows for tight bends without kinking during tricky cable runs. It’s also 50% lighter than traditional brake housing while being more durable.

Combine these benefits with Jagwires Teflon® coated cables and slick-lube liners that dramatically reduce friction and you’ve got the best of performance and style.

Compressionless housing results in crisp brake lever feel 50% lighter than traditional housings

Look, feel, perform better.

Tune your bike! Tweak your heart !

Maintain your cycle, so that your cycle maintains you!

Trained Technicians.

State-of-the-art Equipment.

Genuine Parts.

ProCycle Koramangala

ProCycle Indiranagar

Service Road Jakkasandra Extension, Koramangala 1st Block & HSR 5th Block Connecting Road Bangalore-560 034

#226, 1st Main Road, Service Road, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore - 560 071

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+91 80 2535 2004

Contact us for more details at torquewrench@procycle.in

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IN THIS ISSUE

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Eurobike 2014 Through Pouring Rain Giant Defy 5 Reviewed Tour of China I Truvativ Hussefelt Reviewed Deccan Cliffhanger Pune-Panchgani Classic Boys Toys

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HEYA! The CRANK with ProCycle Team Publisher and Managing Editor Vikram Limsay Editor

Rahul K Thomas Technical Editor

Nilesh Dhumal

West Zone Bureau Divya Tate

Bike Tester

Ajay Kamble Contributions by

Mohammad Rafi Shaik, 7Cycling, Shubhankar Dey, Vishal Jadhav, Aditya Padhye, Nachiket Joshi Registered to

Procycle and Sports India Private Limited Corporate Office

Indiranagar, 889, First Floor, 7th Main 4th Cross, HAL II stage, Bangalore - 560008 Tel: +91 80 41161902 Showroom

Indiranagar #226, 1st Main Road, Service Road, Domlur

Heya!

This month brings you plenty from afar. This is our Eurobike special and we bring you all the droolworthy stuff that was on show at the Eurobike (that we could fit into these pages). Its getting bigger and better every year and this year spectators even caught a Danny MacAskill special.

Then we head on over to China where we bring you Part 1 of the Tour of China.

A UCI certified Category 2.1 race, it takes place in two parts over a total of twelve days. Here’s what went down in the first 7.

We review the Giant Defy 5 and figure out whether it really is a great endurance bike. Then we head on over into the Karnataka interiors for a monsoon tour.

All this and more in this issue of CRANK with ProCycle. Turn the page and read.

Then get out and ride!

2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore - 560071 Tel: +91 98802 16064 Koramangala/HSR Layout New #12, Old #75, Service Road, Jakkasandra Extension, Koramangala 1st Block, Near HSR 5th

Editor

Sector, Bangalore - 560034 Tel: +91 80 2550 1967 Website

www.procycle.in For queries regarding advertising and subscription mail us at subscribecrank@procycle.in Cover

The lake jump at Eurobike 2014. Image copyright Photo: EUROBIKE Friedrichshafen Rear Cover

The ProCycle car hitting the road Printed by

Print 2 Last Solutions

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The new and improved ProCycle Indranagar store

BANGALORE’S BEST MULTI-BRAND BICYCLE STORE INDIRANAGAR/ HSR/KORAMANGALA! Bicycle sales, Bicycle service, Bicycle rentals, Accessories, Spare parts, Bike fit, Pick up & Drop, Bicycle rides, Trade-in's, Riding tutorials, ProCycle Koramangala Service Road Jakkasandra Extension, Koramangala 1st Block & HSR 5th Block Connecting Road, Bangalore - 560 034

ProCycle Indiranagar #226, 1st Main Road, Service Road, Domlur, 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bangalore - 560071

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Girls just make it look graceful

THE CUTTING EDGE

Its that time of the year again when the biggest bike show hits Europe.

We’ll keep the chatter to a minimum and let the images speak for themselves. Check out all the rad dope from this year at Eurobike!

All images copyright Photo: EUROBIKE Friedrichshafen

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Eurobike saw Danny MacAskill sending the crowd into raptures

Air time anyone

Yeah we have GOT to try this one out. Check out the guy in the pond below him Its time for the Lake Jump!

Trials rider Paolo Patrizi wowed the crowd with his skills

One of Danny’s signature moves.

Remember Imaginate

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Demo day took people out on the trails

Testing out the new Cannondales with their latest Lefty fork

Just what you need on a rainy day

Fat bikes are here to stay.

Taking Focus’ cyclocross bikes through the muck on Demo Day. Note the disc brakes

Another Gold award winner - the Diavelo’s concealed drive was a huge crowdpuller.

We think this might go far

Even Kermit likes to bike albeit on a trike Selle Italia gone retro

Lake Cycling’s MX175 mountain bike shoes use real leather and a BOA closure. And they look pretty butch too

Cycling fashion anyone

The POC stall. Can’t get enough of that urban bling

Magura’s new disc brakes

GT’s new 27.5 inch all-mountain/enduro offering

Ghost’s Riot was both a Gold Award Winner and a star attraction

Unchali Falls

TOURING

THROUGH POURING RAIN Words and Images by Mohammad Rafi Shaik

Uttara Kannada, also known as North Kanara or North Canara, is a Konkan district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Blessed with lush green forests and more than 10 waterfalls in and around Sirsi and Yellapur, this is a beautiful region indeed. Most of these falls are accessible by road and there is no better time to explore it than the monsoon.

A long time ago, I had explored the North Canara waterfalls with a trekking club and was mesmerised.

Thereafter I took up cycling and had long awaited an opportunity to return to the region with my bike. The streams, waterfalls, low traffic and rolling terrain make this a monsoon paradise for cyclists. However, with life and responsibilities catching up with me, I was restricted to short rides, races and the occasional brevet. Touring seemed like a distant dream. One fine day however, my wife felt homesick and wanted to spend some time with her folks. I took the opportunity to take a break myself and quickly came up with the plan to explore North Canara.

The plan was to use KSRTC volvo to and from Sirsi and to ride without backup support - a back to basics, no frills, unsupported tour. Posted on a couple of cycling and trekking groups and found four more like-minded souls in quick time.

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One friday night Gautham Baliga, Dhruva, Venkatappa and Deepak joined me at Majestic bus station in Bangalore. There were a few nervous moments as we discovered that 2/3 of the luggage space on the bus was occupied by daily private courier and cargo services leaving just 1/3 luggage space for passengers. This posed a major problem as far as storing our bikes was concerned but in the end we managed.

Caught a nice nap on the bus that night.

Day 1 We arrived at Yellapur at 4.30 a.m. It had been pouring with rain all night. But fortunately it stopped by the time we disembarked. We assembled our bikes and freshened up at the bus stop after which we belted a good breakfast and took off at 7:30am.

Our destination was Sathodi falls which is approximately 25kms from Yellapur. Of this, about 8-10km was as good as off roading with muddy, wet surfaces. The ride took us through dense forest with absolutely no traffic at all - a welcome break for us city cyclists who battle through jams every day.

From L to R - Gautham Baliga, Mohammad Rafi, Dhruva, Venkatappa and Deepak at Yellapur bus stand

By 9.30 a.m we reached Kodasali Dam and decided to take a break to click pictures. This place is 23kms from Yellapur and we lost altitude from 506m to -4m.

From Kodasali Dam to the Sathodi falls entry gate is just about half a km. We parked our bikes near the parking fee collection centre as we needed to cross difficult hurdles to the falls. The lady promised us that she would take care of our bikes which we ensured were locked.

With the downpours, the falls were in spate and were aboslutely magnificent. We spent more than 2 hours at Sathodi falls, taking pictures and then a dip under a small fall nearby.

The return journey was quite tough, with heavy rain, and offroads uphill. One must carry enough water in this stretch as there is none until you reach the top of the hill. We managed to get water from the tourists and survived on the climb. After more than 10kms of climbing, there was a temple where we refilled water. Rain plus riding uphill, offroad while loaded down with camping luggage can dramatically impact speed. We broke for lunch around 3 pm at a small village on the way to Yellapur. On this stretch there is no really proper food except some bread omellettes of the masala kind.

Finally reached Yellapur by 4:30pm. By this time, Dhruva’s rear hub was making a lot of noise due to damaged bearings. Also since Magod Falls is 25kms from Yellapur, we knew it would be difficult to reach the falls before sunset. In the end, we decided to take a support vehicle (auto) to Magod Falls and then to the Swarnavalli Mutt for the night stay.

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After visiting Magod Falls we finally reached, Swarnavalli Mutt - a religious education centre where were offered lodging and food free of cost. After a hot bath and some good food, we spent some time relaxing before turning in.

Day 2 We Rode to Sirsi which is 13kms from Swarnavalli Mutt - complete rolling terrain. We dumped all the luggage at a hotel and then started to Unchali Falls - an amazingly green and beautiful route. On the we had stopped at a rope way bridge which connects you to a village on the other side of the river.

Broke for lunch at Heggare - something to fill your belly but not particularly tasty. From Heggere to Unchali falls is 5 kms of challenging terrain. Finally we reached the Unchali entrance gate by 2:30pm, from which its another 1 km to the waterfalls. This last 1 km can be a little risky as it is steep offroading with huge drops all along it. Probably better to push the bicycle and reach the falls.

In the end it was worth it as the view was spectacular.

The return ride was equally amazing as we didn’t have to battle any uphills. Finally reached Sirsi by 5:30 pm, where we had requested a PWD bungalow and got rooms where we took baths at no cost.

Grabbed a well-deserved biryani at a local hotel before boarded KSRTC volvo to head home and back to spend another week at work dreaming of the wonderful trails of Canara.

Kodasali Dam

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BIKE REVIEW

GIANT DEFY 5 Tech Speak by Nilesh Dhumal, Images by Rahul K Thomas

This month we bring you our long-term review of the 2014 Giant Defy 5 - an entry-level endurance road bike. Team ProCycle’s roadie crew have hammered out thousands of kilometers on it both in training and in competition. Here’s the in-depth skinny on an interesting package.

First off, you must know that the Defy series slots in above the entry-level SCR series of road bikes from Giant. The Defy 5 is the base level offering in this series. This is an endurance bike which has been designed to be kind to you through long days in the saddle.

Keeping this in mind, here goes.

This is a pretty sweet looking ride. The silver is of a darkish shade which is nicely complemented by the red branding. On close inspection the paint has a nice gloss to it. As you can see from the images, we’ve really put it through the wringer and its stood up pretty well. The components bear testament to the bashing and crashing its gone through but the paint has stood up very well indeed.

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The Giant Defy 5 takes everything in its stride. Note the endurance geometry with the sloping top tube and steep seat tube angle

Giant seat post and saddle (very comfy)

A superb paint job which doesn’t reflect the beating its taken.

The Defy 5 with its ‘compact’ classification CRANK with ProCycle OCTOBER 15TH, 2014

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The alloy fork of the Defy 5

The entry-level FSA Tempo crank has taken a few licks but done the job The truly awful Tektro brakes. Change them!

Geometry (and what it means) The Defy has a taller front end with a sloping top tube and a steep seat tube angle. This means you end up with a bike which seats you in a comfortable posture (relatively more upright) as is appropriate for an endurance bike.

Ride Quality

Shimano Claris 8-speed dual lever shifters. They show signs of abuse but still work well.

This is one comfy bike indeed. Despite the non-aggressive posture, there is no sacrifice with regard to handling. Handling is precise and the bike is extremely responsive indeed. We love the confidence it inspires through bends and turns. Frankly, it urges you to stomp on the pedals, largely regardless of your level of experience. We have to admit it isn’t the lightest (alloy) frame out there but you soon forget that as the riding experience is excellent. The Defy 3 rolls pretty quickly and gets up to speed if you stand up and crank it out. Its a go-anywhere road bike (if there is such a thing) for either the avid rider or even newcomers

The Defy in competition

The Shimano Claris rear derailleur

Giant SR2 wheelset - heavy but built like a tank

to the roadie world. One thing that’s worthy of noting though is that it comes with an alloy fork as opposed to most other road bikes in this category which have carbon up front.

Componentry The components are a mixed bag on the Defy.

The wheelset is in-house Giant OEM stuff called the SR2. The wheels aren’t light and are pretty low-tech without even sealed bearings. In fact, the SR2 comprises 32-spoke wheels front and back - something rarely seen at this level these days. We didn’t expect much but have been very pleasantly surprised indeed. They have been pounded and hammered over Bangalore’s moon-like landscape and have stayed true right out of the box. They aren’t the best race wheels due to their weight but they roll surprisingly well and certainly do the job without any fuss. Stock tyres were again Giant branded S-R4 700x25c tyres. We quickly swapped them out for 23c tyres and found the difference in acceleration very perceptible.

The drivetrain is a combination of Shimano’s new ‘Claris’ groupset mated to an FSA Tempo crankset. Now Claris is a new gruppo and is a bit of a mystery to most people. Let us help out. Its essentially an 8-speed drivetrain which now slots below the Sora (which is now 9-speed) and above the 2300. It offers the same STI shifting with the dual-control levers (instead of the thumb shift that you find on the 2300). Essentially, if you’ve used Sora, this performs pretty much identically to it. Except that its 8-speed. We found it did the job with decently crisp shifts. The FSA Tempo crankset is really an entry-level bit of kit and isn’t particularly exciting. The Defy 5 comes with a compact double (two chainrings up front) as is standard with this level of roadbike these days. On the whole, it works.

Giant being the ‘giant’ they are, most other things are manufactured in-house under the brand ‘Connect’. The saddle is very comfortable indeed, the stem and seat-post do the job well. But, then we come to the brakes which are Tektro R312. Here we really have to express our disappointment. This is a great-handling, confidence-inspiring bike which wants to blitz through bends. And its been given really

Giant-branded stem and bars

tragic brakes. These calipers and pads are just awful. Swap out the pads for some performance pads like Koolstop Salmons and you’ll see some improvement. Better yet, change the calipers too! It will change your riding experience. You can thank us later.

The Bottom Line The Giant Defy 5 claims to be an alloy road bike which offer comfort for your endurance rides. And it does just that! If you weigh a bike by its components, priced at INR 55,000 this certainly doesn’t match other offerings in its price range. But, this bike is certainly more than the sum of its parts. The frame and geometry make it a treat to ride and it is eminently upgrade-worthy. For long days in the saddle and a hassle-free, no-nonsense ride, this is tough to beat. Buy it and swap out the brakes. Or, if you can stretch your budget, then the Defy 3 or even the Defy 1 might just satisfy all your requirements.

CRANK with ProCycle OCTOBER 15TH, 2014

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Stage 1 - Riders raced through slippery corners in pouring rain

INTERNATIONAL RACING

TOUR OF CHINA (PART 1) Images courtesy 7cycling

If you’re wondering whether this is a 1-part special, it is. But the ‘Part 1’ also refers to the way the Tour of China is formatted. A professional stage race which is supposedly the fourth longest (after the Tours of France, Italy and Spain), this is a UCI sanctioned category 2.1 race which is part of the Asia Tour (one of the five continental circuits). And since 2012 it has been split into two parts. The first part covers 7 stages and the second has 5. Each of them has separate winners too.

The Tour of China I (as its referred to), kicked off on the 31st of August with 127 riders vying for honours. Here’s how it all went down.

Stage 1 Type of race: Circuit (in Xi’an) Distance: 93.6 km (9 laps of 10.4 kms) The opening stage was a circuit in the city Xi’an around the aerospace base. It included 3 match sprints and a Cat 4 climb which got underway at about 66kms. Kicking off at half past 9, riders battled not just each other but torrential rain all through the race.

Attacks at the front proved to be unsuccessful. As the race wore on, rain just got heavier.

After lap 4, a seven-man break formed with local hero Wang Meiyin in the thick of things along with Matthew Martin Brammeier, Oleksandr Polivoda and a few others. After the climb, Polivoda (KOLSS Cycling Team) and Pawel Piotr Bernas (BDC Marcpol) worked together from then on. By then, the peloton had caught the lead group but heavy rain meant frequent crashes splitting the entire field. 400 meters to the finish and Pawel Piotr Bernas went for the sprint, winning the stage, followed by Oleksandr Polivoda and Neil Anthony Van Der Ploeg (Avanti Racing Team).

Stage 2 Type of race: A (Hanzhong Chenggu) to B (Hanzhong) Distance: 137 km

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Stage 1 - Pawel Piotr Bernas (BDC Marcpol) wins the 1st stage

Stage 1 - A carnival before the race

Stage 1 - Sprinting for their lives Stage 2 - Aggressive turns

Stage 2 - Sunshine prevailed after a horrible first day

Stage 1 - A risky look over the shoulder

The second day of the Tour of China I had riders competing in sunshine over 137 kms. There were 3 sprints scheduled at 55km, 88km and 111.3km. Lots of attacks happened at the start to no avail. At one point the peloton was averaging 55 kmph. Riders who made a break for it were quickly caught. There was no break until the second sprint was approached. Andreas Hofer who took the sprint points chose to go solo after until he was caught by four riders. Forming a lead group they opened up a one minute gap over the rest. 1 km to the tape and they were caught by the peloton. In the bunch sprint that followed, Mattia Gavazzi (Amore&Vita - SELL SMP) won in a time of 2 hours 43 minutes and 46 seconds.

Stage 3 Type of race: A (Nanjiang Guangwu Mountain) to B (Nanjiang) Distance: 122.5k m Stage 3 was supposed to be a beautiful race on Wuguang mountain with an HC and a C1 climb included but weather played havoc with the day. Conditions were so bad that the race was shortened by 30km and the climb had to be cancelled. At 11kms

Stage 3 - Kamil Gradek of BDC Marcpol celebrates victory

riders went into a neutral ride for 30 kms with no contest until the race re-commenced. Victor Nino Corredor (RTS Santic Racing Team) attacked and kept his lead all the way to the HC King of the Mountain. Kamil Gradek of BDC Marcpol crossed the line in first.

Marco Zanotti followed close on his heels to move into the overall lead.

Stage 4 Type of race: A (Bazhong) to B (Pingchang) Distance: 133.6 km After the horrible day of racing in Stage 3, 12 riders were off the road. Stage 4 weather made up for it though and the audience in Bazhong loved it. This stage included a c1 KOM at 58 k, two c2 KOMs at 74.8 km and 96.9 km with a sprint at 105.9 km.

With 3 kms to go, the sprinters were lined up. Astana, Kolss and RTS Santic were at the front of the lead bunch. Vitaly Buts (KOLSS Cycling Team) ended up crossing the finish line in first in a time of 3 hours 12 minutes and 55 seconds. He was closely followed by Nurbolat Kulimbetov (Continental Team Astana) and Meiyin Wang (Hengxiang Cycling Team).

This stage comprised three short laps around the city center, and a long lap featuring a HC KOM and two more points classifications on the way downhill.

Victor Nino Corredor (RTS Santic Racing Team), who lost KOM the previous day attacked 1km from the crest of the KOM to take back his title. Stefan Schumacher (Christina Watches-Kuma), a former GC leader of the 2012 Tour of China took second.

After the intense climb, the bunch was divided into three groups.

Kamil MichaĹ Gradek (holder of the yellow jersey), along with sprinters fron KOLSS Cycling team, Continental Team Astana, and Christina Watches-Kuma took the lead.

With just 250m to go, Grischa Janorschke (Team Vorarlberg) found himself a corridor on the outside and sprinted to the win by only half a wheel. Having raced seven times in China, the 27 year-old German rider finally wins a stage in China having raced Tour of Taihu, Tour of Hainan and previous editions of Tour of China in his career.

Still holds a 39s advantage over the second rider on GC.

Stage 5

Stage 6

Type of race: Circuit (in Chengdu Penzhou) Distance: 101.5 km

Type of race: Circuit (in Chengdu Dayi) Distance: 138.9 km

Stage 3 - Rain didn’t dampen festivities

Stage 6 - Riders competed for 2 KOMsjpg Stage 4 - KOLSS riders horsing around after the win

Stage 5 - Gradek with his BDC Marcpol teammates

Stage 7 - Boris Shpilevsky (RTS Santic Racing Team) wins the stage with Tino Thomel in close second. He keeps the Blue Jersey overall

This was a rather long stage (138.9km) with two KOM and three points classifications. It was also the last stage with a KOM at the Tour of China I.

intense. Neil Anthony van der Ploeg (Avanti Racing Team) and Michele Scartezzini(Continental Team Astana) took maximum points from each of the two laps that remained.

The race got underway in beautiful sunshine with most riders content to stay close to the main bunch until the final sprint. This isn’t the time to do anything silly after all. Boris Shpilevsky (RTS Santic Racing Team) in blue held a 5 point advantage over Vitaliy Buts(KOLSS Cycling Team)on points classification before this stage.

The two of them each won a sprint while the other was won by William James Clarke (Drapac Cycling Team). The two KOMs were taken by Meiyin Wang (Hengxiang Cycling Team) and Casulleras Jordi Simon (Team Encudor).

The peloton once again caught all the breakaway riders. Boris, the Santic Sprinter was so determined to win a stage that he passed yellow jersey and Avanti sprinters before him from the right side to finally fulfill his wish at Tour of China.

Astana riders in light blue jersey demonstrated how cycling could be a team sport at the sprint finish, while KOLSS and Avanti riders also gave it a go in the last km. However, a crash at final 500m involved several riders. In the mayhem, 26 year-old German rider THÖMEL Tino (Team Stuttgart) took his first stage win in China, and gave his team a great morale booster.

Stage 7

After seven stages that covered four provinces and two municipalities, Polish rider Kamil MichaŁ Gradek took the overall General Category win for the first time in his career. Stage winner Boris Shpilevsky (RTS Santic Racing Team) kept his blue jersey till the end. His teammate, Victor Nino Corredor had already secured his KOM winner position two stages previously. Young Chinese rider Jingbiao Zhao (Hengxiang Cycling Team) took the white.

Overall Results Jerseys: Yellow: Kamil MichaŁ Gradek (BDC Marcpol) Blue: Boris Shpilevsky (RTS Santic Racing Team) Polka Dot: Victor Nino Corredor (RTS Santic Racing Team)

Type of race: Circuit (in Chongqing Banan) Distance: 133.2 km Stage 7 - Kamil MichaŁ Gradek (BDC Marcpol) wins the General Category

The weather Gods decided to give competitors and spectators a grand last day of the Tour of China I. 98 riders signed up for the grand finale and they didn’t disappoint! Multiple attack attempts were made in the beginning but safety concerns brought the race to a stop for a while shortening the stage by by 33km with a cancellation of the first sprint.

There was no way for Boris to lose the Blue Jersey but competition for but competition for points remained

GEAR REVIEW

TRUVATIV HUSSEFELT STEM If you find that you’re feeling less-than-confident on trails you should take a look at your stem. Odds are its on the longer side with typical stock hardtail stems measuring more than 70mm. If you would like to ride more technical stuff without getting that sinking feeling in your stomach on a descent which precedes biting dirt, you should think about a shorter stem.

Here we have one of the burliest budget stems on the market - the Truvativ Hussefelt. We LOVE the tank-like build of this stem. It looks like it would go through a wall and it pretty much performs as well. At 40mm, the Hussefelt will bring your bars closer to you and give you control like you never believed possible. It has four bolts on the face plate and two on the back, all of which are 5mm. If you’ve ever fiddled around with different allen keys to tighten the same stem, you’ll know how convenient this makes it.

Machined from 6061 alloy, the Hussefelt does duty on thousands of bikes around the world from dirt jumpers to all-mountain rides to fullon downhill rigs. And we’ve never heard of a single one failing. We’ve thrashed this bad boy everywhere and it has nary a scratch to show despite being painted (instead of anodized). Weighing in at a little more than 200 grams, if there were one complaint you could make about it, it is that its too heavy. But then, that’d make you a weight weenie and you probably shouldn’t be riding a gravity rig anyway.

The Hussefelt stem also comes in a 60mm version but we’d recommend the 40.

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AROUND THE CORNER

Team Greenspeed and Team Wheels of Fire finishing at The Deccan Cliffhanger.

Image courtesy Shubhankar Dey

THE DECCAN CLIFFHANGER It’s time to head for the beach again! The Deccan Cliffhanger (TDC) Ultra Race from Pune to Goa promises yet again to be a celebration of cycling. Starting from Pune city on the 28th on November 2014, solo riders will have less than 34 hours to cover the distance of 640 km or 400 miles to Goa. Solo riders will be qualified for Race Across America (RAAM) on completing the race within the stipulated time. The race also has a Relay Team category, in which 2, 3 and 4 person teams take turns riding the race route. The Racers have to be fully supported by crew members in support vehicles, who ensure that the riders’ needs are met. The route now rolls over some very challenging hills as it heads to the beach. With more than 4000m of climbing on the route, the first view of the Indian Ocean, signalling the end of the race will be sweet relief to racers.

Hitendra Mahajan at The Deccan Cliffhanger. Image courtesy Shubhankar Dey

The first edition took place in February 2014 and saw 10 solo racers attempt TDC of which 7 finished in time. Shusanah Pillinger who was the first to finish it, in under 27 hrs, was already training for her RAAM attempt - the one which so tragically ended with a fall on the 8th day. Hiren Patel who had a most unfortunate accident while descending from Mahabaleshwar during TDC, is gearing up to finish the race in good time in the second edition. Kunal Gupte who withdrew early in TDC will also be attempting to set the record straight. The Mahajan brothers from Nashik, Hitendra and Mahendra qualified for RAAM solo in the first edition of the Cliffhanger. Taking a prudent decision to attempt RAAM 2015 as a two-person team, Hitendra went as crew member for a four-person team in RAAM this year to get an insight into the challenges of the event. Mohinder Bharaj who crewed for them in February will be attempting TDC solo in November.

Turn up, if you’re ready to test yourself to the hilt. Or if you’d like to cheer on those who will.

RACE DETAILS DATE : 29th Nov 2014 START : Pune The city of cycles FINISH : Miramar Beach, Goa – A popular tourist destination DISTANCE : 643 kms (400 Miles) FORMAT : Solo event and Team Based relay event

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Race in progress on Sinhagad pbch 6.

Image courtesy Aditya Padhye

Sinhagad hill climb pbch 6. Image courtesy Aditya Padhye

PUNE-PANCHGANI 100KM CLASSIC The Lifecycle Pune Bicycle Championship races are known for being tough uphill climb races. So far, 6 editions have been conducted on two different routes - Sinhagad Fort and Lavasa Hill. This time the race route will take riders up to Panchgani.

Asia’s second largest table land Panchgani is a high plateau in the sahyadris, that is well known for its clean air.

View of the climb from Harrison’s folly.

Image courtesy Divya Tate

With a total elevation gain of 1500 mt or 5000 ft the race route promises to test the toughest! Starting from Pune city, rider will face a small climb to Katraj tunnel. This will be followed by a small downhill and a flat, until one crosses the backwaters of Veer Dam near Shirwal. After that one starts climbing a low gradient till the next climb up Khambatki ghat. A small descent and one turns off the highway to cross Wai and start the 10 km long Pasarni ghat climb to Panchgani. Pasarni stretches as far the eye can see, with only a few bends.

The Race ends at a plateau called Harrison’s Folly which enjoys magnificent views to the valleys below. Previous editions are well known for being hard fought, with amateurs and pros both battling it out for the podium. The race will have 2 bike categories, road and hybrid with race teams travelling from across the country to clash on Pasarni Ghat!

Be there!

RACE DETAILS Date: 28th Sept 2014 Time: 6:30 am Start Venue: Lifecycle Mall, Tilak Rd Pune Finish Venue: Harrison’s Folly, Panchgani

View of Pasarni Ghat. Image courtesy Nachiket Joshi

Team Greenspeed at The Deccan Cliffhanger. Image courtesy Shubhankar Dey

BOYS’ TOYS

TOPEAK JOE BLOW MAX HP Tired of huffing and puffing trying to inflate your massive MTB tyres or high-pressure road bike with that basic pump of yours? The Joe Blow Max HP is right up your alley. With a massive steel barrel and a rating of up to 160 psi, this is a pump which’ll outlast most of your bikes. Its twin head means you don’t have to fiddle around with presta or schrader adapters any more. Simply flick the lever to the side that you need and pump.

AGU SABURO SUNGLASSES AGU’s Saburo shades are a great piece of sporting kit. Designed as wraparound sunglasses intended for cyclists and other sportspeople, they do a great job of keep dust and grit out of your eyes. Light and comfy, they are good for the long ride and they come with 3 swappable lenses depending on the light you want to ride in. Optics are good with no distortion. And they are very affordable too. Pick up a pair if you are looking for quality without having to sell a kidney.

For more details drop us a line at torquewrench@procycle.in

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