How an Indian brother-sister duo trained to become champion cyclists

“I missed the last two road Nationals, so I wanted to do well on my return, especially in the Elite category that features the best riders in the country. At the same time, I was hoping that my brother and I would both return home with gold. It’s a dream come true to have won alongside him at the same championships," Jasmeek, 20, says.

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The duo has made quick progress since taking to the sport a few years ago. A rollerskater during his younger days, Harshveer picked up cycling in 2017. Primarily a track cyclist, he took two bronze medals at his first National Championships, which was enough reason to push further. By 2019, he had made the national camp.

“Rollerskating had no government recognition or financial support at the time, since it’s not an Olympic sport, so I decided to switch to cycling. The training I had put in as a skater made the transition quite smooth," Harshveer, 26, says.

The covid-19 lockdowns brought them under the same roof back home in Ludhiana where they often trained together. Harshveer put in the work on his indoor trainer, while Jasmeek, a tennis player at the time, would do shadow practice and resistance training.

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“She was making good progress in tennis, but there just weren’t enough facilities in Ludhiana to continue building on it. So I convinced her to give cycling a shot and enrolled her in a few races," Harshveer says.

In 2021, Jasmeek took gold at the State Championships and bronze at the Nationals. Soon, she put away her racquets and started working with Harshveer, making steady progress in a short period of time. She too is part of the India camp today.

“During the fitness sessions that we did together, I realised that she had the potential to ride strong if she was guided properly. Once she picked up her first medal, she was hooked and wanted more of it. After a few races, it was evident that she wanted to win races and couldn’t stand finishing second," Harshveer says. Jasmeek feels it is a blessing to have another cyclist at home. “We constantly push and motivate each other to excel," she says.

Harshveer specialises on the track, where the training is more intensive for speed, the longest race typically lasting well under an hour. Given her inclination towards endurance, Jasmeek prefers road cycling where the races are much longer. A lot of her riding happens outdoors, while Harshveer puts in the work on a trainer. They are backed every step of the way by their parents, Baldeep Kaur, a former hockey player, and Baljeet Singh, who played kabaddi at the district level.

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“I’ve done my engineering and pursued an MBA degree as well. But I wanted to continue chasing sports for a few years and had a talk with my folks. It’s been possible only because of their support," Harshveer says.

Last year, Harshveer spent a number of weeks training and racing abroad with an aim to gather adequate points to qualify for the UCI Track World Championships. By October, he had made the cut for the event in Denmark.

Jasmeek, meanwhile, was picked out to be a part of the Astana Dewi Team, a continental road cycling team based out of Kazakhstan. It’s where she met her current coach, Maxat Ayazbayev, who monitors her progress remotely. By November, both started working towards the final assignment of the year.

“I logged close to 20 hours each week, most of it outside. I used the trainer only if the weather was bad or if I wanted to train for inclines, since we don’t have many climbs around Ludhiana. Off the bike was usually core workouts, and resistance and strength training, though as an endurance cyclist, the focus was more on repetitions rather than lifting heavier weights," Jasmeek says.

“A month before the Nationals, I started putting in specific work on a time trial bike, which utilises different muscles since the posture is a lot more aggressive," she says.

Once in Puri, Harshveer learned that his bike sponsor had backed out and had to go about figuring out his ride. He borrowed gear and assembled a bike just in time for the 40km time trial. He experienced mechanical issues during his race and had to ride conservatively on turns, picking up the pace on the straights. After competing cyclist Naveen John was relegated (for an incident during the event), Harshveer was handed gold. “Right after the race, my bike was disassembled since I had to return the spares. I didn’t even have time to get a photo on it," he says, laughing.

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Jasmeek got off to a conservative start during her 30km race, as she scoped out the course. She pushed over the last 7km to finish in top spot. “The course had a few potholes and the conditions were hot and windy. I had seen other cyclists struggling by the end of their run, so I decided to settle in before picking up the pace. Midway through the race, I was trailing the leader by a minute, so I knew I had to go all out towards the end," she says.

Once back home, they exchanged notes of a different kind. Both are planning on appearing for the Police Clearance Services at some point and spend time with their books when the opportunity arises. “We don’t discuss studies very often. All the talk is around racing and chasing our goals," Jasmeek says.

Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based freelance writer.

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