Excelsior Sports Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 4: Making Kashmir proud, local cyclist, Waheed Padroo cruised to victory in the second stage of the Khyber 13th Tour de Kashmir cycling expedition held from Pahalgam to Ashmuqam and back to Aru via Pahalgam.
The riders covered total distance of 44.5 kilometers which involved both downhill and uphill. Padroo who hails from Magam area of Kashmir, took advantage of his mountain strength by pedaling ahead from the rest of the riders on the uphill Aru road. It was surprise victory for Padroo who is new in cycling arena of the State and in his ride to victory he defeated some of the international level cyclists of the India .
Overall leader Saurabh of Haryana finished second while as Parshuram of Telangana finished third. Local cycling hero, Mohammad Akber Khan missed position by whisker after he met with accident meters before finish line. However, he got up quickly in order to finish race but lost the position.
Earlier, second stage of this 6-Stage, national level 350-kilometeres cycling extravaganza was flagged off from Pahalgam by CEO Pahalgam, Riyaz Ahmad along with J&K Sports Development Association officials, Rauf Ahmad Tramboo, Bashir Damna, Mohammad Yousuf and Shafat Ahmad.
Terming the event as milestone in the cycling arena of State, CEO hailed JKSDA for coming up with such a unique concept.
In the event 58 riders hailing from 12 different States of the country are competing along with local riders of the State. The event is being organized by JKSDA in collaboration with Tourism Department, Kashmir. The event is being sponsored by Khyber, Mirza Sons, J&K Bank, New JK Roadways and Lawrence Group of Schools.
Later, prize distribution ceremony was held in which position holders were awarded with cash prizes and stage winning green jersy. The cheques and jersy were distributed among winners by JKSDA Srinagar President Tariq Rashid Ghani.
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