The three-day cycling extravaganza, the Track Asia Cup 2019, beginning on Monday will showcase top quality competitive track cycling in the Capital.
The Cycling Federation of India (CFI) will be hosting the sixth edition of the tournament at the Yamuna Velodrome in the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex from September 9 to 11.
More than 150 cyclists from Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, China, Myanmar, Singapore, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Latvia and Slovakia, besides India, will be participating.
Part of World Cup
The competition is part of the World Cup, World Championships and also serves as a qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
A 34-member Indian team and an additional team drawn from Khelo India cyclists will participate.
Eighteen-year-old Esow Alben, who won team sprint gold in the junior track cycling World Championships, will lead the challenge in the men's elite category.
A big test
The transition to senior category will be a big test for him.
Deborah Herold, currently fourth in UCI 500m time trail rankings, is looking to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Along with Aleena Reji, she will take part in the women team sprint.
CFI chairman Onkar Singh said, “This is a build-up for Indian cyclists.
“We are organising it to help the junior cyclists learn from competing against some of Asia’s best.”
