MYSORE: Cycling and mountain biking, hitherto largely restricted to a few pockets of north Karnataka and Bangalore is now slowly making a mark on Mysore soil.
As many as 40 cyclists from the city are taking part in the two-day 10th Mountain Bike championship which began at the Lalit Mahal Helipad Grounds on Saturday.
N Lokesh, a national level silver medalist, is doing his might to promote the game in the city. Lokesh who opened Cyclopedia, a shop that sells racing and fitness cycles, a year-and-a-half ago, is training young boys and girls of the city to become professional bikers.
His efforts have started yielding results as one of his trainees -- Tejas won a medal in a state level contest held in Gadag last year. He says that unlike other games, parents do not encourage their children to get into biking as it is a costly affair. A racing bicycle costs anything between `25,000 and `4 lakh.
Mysore Has Potential
According to cyclists and coaches, Mysore has the potential to become one of the favourite destinations for mountain biking. Srinath Urs, a biking enthusiast and one of the organisers of event, said the space in the foot of Chamundi Hills, which is strewn with small rocks, trails and downhill, is a perfect venue for the game.
Wins with Ordinary Bicycle
Yellappa Malappa Shirgur, a student of Sports Hostel in Bijapur, stunned his fellow participants as he clinched the silver in U-16 Mass Start held here.
Though he has won medals in national champions twice, what made him look like an underdog for fellow participants, is his bicycle. While many participants flashed expensive bicycles that too with gears, Shirgur had an old and ordinary bicycle which saw him race ahead of many.
Son of daily wagers from Bidri village in Jamkhandi taluk, he took to cycling when he was seven.
His sister Jayalakshmi is a two-time national medalist.
Though he has a bicycle worth `1 lakh for winning a national event, he uses it for road event and not off-road events.