From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Asia's longest cycle race begins tomorrow

A new chapter in the sport of ultra cycling will be written as Asia's longest cycle race, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, will be flagged off on Wednesday.

"This is the first-of-its-kind race in not only India but in Asia, which will cover a distance of 3655 kilometers from Kashmir to Kanyakumari," the director of the ultra cycling project, Jitendra Nayak, told reporters.

The race has been accorded the status of Asian Ultracycling Championship by the World Ultracycling Association (WUCA), Nayak said.

Formally, ultra-cycling is any bicycle ride that is more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) in length or six hours in duration, completed as a single effort.

"The cyclists who complete this race will automatically qualify for the World event," he added. Nayak said the idea to hold an ultra-cycling race came after several cyclists from India participated in these events held in the west and the far east.

"It is a very expensive affair to participate in the races held in the west. So the idea was to allow cyclists from India to participate in ultra-cycling events which are affordable. It will cost only 1/10th what it takes to participate in races abroad," he added.

Nayak said 12 solo cyclists, including one female racer, and four teams of four players, will take part in the race. Race director Vivitt Walve said there are 12-time stations along the route. "Each station is placed between 200 to 400 kilometers." He said all riders are tracked using GPS devices.