CyclistThe best there ever will be: India sets bar high for countrys first UCI World Championships in 2032In 2032, the UCI World Championships will be held in India for the first time. Yet while the crown jewel of the international circuit will be more than a century old by the time Pune welcomes the Worlds six years from now, Indias sights are firmly set on it being an event to remember.People will see the best World Championships there ever will be, says Cycling Federation of Indias secretary general Maninder Pal Singh. We will also have the fourth Grand Tour here, Pune will have regained its spot as the bicycle city of this country, and India will become the cycling nation of the world as well.In other words, the bar is being set very high indeed. Pune is at the epicentre of cyclings current boom in India. Historically known as the countrys city of cycles, Pune is looking to reclaim its crown in a future less dominated by industrialisation and vehicular-centric infrastructure. The city is situated in the western state of Maharashtra and is around 120km from Mumbai as the crow flies. Its the focal point of the Pune Grand Tour, a stage race whose name hints at grand aspirations despite having been only held for the first time this year. And that after taking just six months to go from just an idea to riders heading off the start ramp for the 7km prologue on 19th January.The Pune Grand Tour will expand to six stages for 2027 and has already been promoted from 2.2 to 2.1 status by the UCI, meaning its peloton makeup can be devised of no more than 50% WorldTour teams, putting it in the same category as the likes of Etoile de Bessges, the Coppi e Bartaliand O Gran Camio. In its debut edition in January, the race kicked off with a prologue followed by four stages that took riders around Maharashtra thorugh Mulshi to Haveli, Nanded City and Baramati, diving through green valleys and traversing rivers, with overall victory going to Luke Mudgway of Li Ning Star. Clearly its a race very much on the rise, and Singh is firm in his belief that it will eventually develop into a fourth Grand Tour, even going as far as to predict it will eventually be considered the grandest of them all.I can promise you, it is going to be bigger than the Tour de France, he says.Pune Grand TourThe implementation of the Sundays on Cycle scheme by Indias Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, has highlighted the popularity of cycling in the country and its growing potential. In just under two years, these short weekly bike rides as part of a nationwide fitness movement have garned almost 3.7 million participants.Dr Mandaviya has a special love of cycling, Singh says. Before becoming a minister, he would cycle to Parliament, which is a rarity, and made sure he had a parking space for his bike he wrote to the Speaker of the House to ensure it. When he became the Sports Minister, he wanted to begin a movement in cycling that encouraged more people to get on their bikes and just ride. You cant imagine the amount of grace people have for Sundays on Cycle. Its almost not normal. But people will ride every Sunday. Its amazing.Sporting success in the nation in recent years has largely been propelled by the highly popular and lucrative Indian Premier League in cricket. In its footsteps comes the launch of the Indian Cycling League this November, in which eight teams of ten riders will represent eight different Indian states in rounds held across the country that each comprise a road race, a criterium and an individual time-trial. Of the ten riders in each team, two spots are reserved for international riders and another two for juniors, the rest being filled by elite Indian cyclists. The first round will take place in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in western India.Its in a nascent stage, Singh says, but I think what makes leagues interesting to people is the showbiz and the glamour factor that comes along with it. Of course, when you host amateur events, you can have your hands tied. Leagues allow for a little bit more legroom in terms of spreading your wings out and making it more spectator-friendly. They cannot only be a sporting success, but [need to be] a commercial success to sustain them for years to come.Womens cycling is also flourishing in India thanks to the Khelo India ASMITA League. Created to promote grassroots womens participation, it covers 37 sports disciplines including cycling, with road, track and mountain bike events held across age categories and providing cash prizes. There might not be any cyclists from the worlds most populous country currently represented at the highest level of road cycling in the WorldTour, but grassroots success is instrumental in promoting a sustainable growth towards this.The bigger the base of the pyramid, the higher your pyramid will be, Singh says.The Jakhar sisters are proof of the leagues success in capturing talent at the grassroots level. Harshita Jakhar won ten gold medals at the Khelo India ASMITA League in 2023, while the younger Anjali claimed five gold medals. The two would then be responsible for back-to-back bronze medals in the junior individual time-trial at the Asian Road Cycling Championships in 2024 and 2025. Harshita later became one of eight riders from the UCI World Cycling Talent Programme to lead a ceremonial neutralised ride before Stage 2 of the Tour de France Femmes in 2026. Her presence was noted by UCI president David Lappartient, who said he hoped for the 19-year-old to one day return to take part in the race proper.Pune Grand TourIt was Lappartient that first floated the idea of holding the World Championships in India ahead of it being officially announced in September. Back in June, when the UCI Management Committee meeting in Italy was considering upgrading the Pune Grand Tour to 2.1 status, Singh notes that Lappartient in the middle of our case, told us we were doing good, but asked why we hadnt spoken about a bid for the World Championships. We looked at one another and said, well, why not?We thought, lets take this opportunity. Lets not waste it. We know our abilities and capabilities.The World Championships in Pune will be situated on roads that by then will have hosted the Pune Grand Tour through seven editions, ensuring the infrastructures ability to successfully host an event of this magnitude should be well established.Preparations are already well underway, however the ultimate measure of the events success wont be made when the final rainbow jersey has been awarded. This is a nation eyeing sporting superpower, and as such, an event of this magnitude will help bolster Indias bid for the 2036 Olympic Games, off the back of the 2030 Commonwealth Games being held in Ahmedabad.Anything that brings India a step closer to being noticeable in sports is of course huge, Singh says, We want to get our athletes not only on the start line, but we want to perform well as a nation and its important for us that other Asian countries do the same too.Our aim is to have the best World Championships that will ever be in 2032. I think its high time that we start believing India will become the cycling nation of the world, he closes. Thats what we are working for. Nothing less.The post The best there ever will be: India sets bar high for countrys first UCI World Championships in 2032 appeared first on Cyclist.