Lounge
How Indian ultra cyclists are preparing for the Deccan Cliffhanger
Summary
One of India's toughest ultra cycling races, the Deccan Cliffhanger will kick off in a few days. This is how cyclists have been training for the race
As a four-time winner of the Deccan Cliffhanger, Kabir Rachure knows what it takes to ace the 643km ultra cycling race from Pune to Goa. But the 11th edition of the race, which flags off on 30 November, features a new route and holds a number of unknownseven for experienced riders like him.
The race was previously known for three significant climbs on the stretch between Pune and Belgaum. The downhills that followed offered relief for the riders and gave them enough time to recover before pedalling on the flats again. This year, the elevation gain of the new course is 5,907m—about 1,000m lower than the last race—over a lot of rolling terrain as compared to longer climbs. The route heads towards Baramati and onward to Karad, before climbing the Anuskura Ghat and descending to Rajapur. After entering Goa, it runs past Banda and Sanquelim, and finishes at Bogmalo Beach.
“Riders will miss the benefits previously gained on the descents and will have to pedal a lot more on the whole. At the same time, the descent from Anuskura Ghat is quite technical, so it makes little sense to speed up on that section. So all in all, it’s going to be a lot slower than the previous races," Rachure says.
Also Read From a video game to the real trail: How this downhill rider aced the sport
Last year, ultra cyclist Kanchan Bokil finished second in the self-supported women’s category. She will be back this year alongside a crew, which is going to be an entirely new experience for her. “All my rides so far have been on my own. It took me a while to get used to being taken care of by my team during the training rides. But it also means my bike is a lot lighter and I don’t have to worry about safety, which has always been at the back of my mind," Bokil says.
In February, she started working towards the race with easy training rides for six days of the week, where her only aim was to pedal non-stop. Over the next few months, she focused more on her cadence and power, while also increasing the duration of her daily rides. And six years since she began distance cycling, Bokil also availed of the convenience of an indoor trainer for the first time.
Also Read Meet the fastest Asian to swim the Molokai Channel in Hawaii
“Since I work at a school, I have fixed timings. In the past, it would often get difficult to train, especially in the evenings. The trainer allowed me to start training the moment I got home. But I still made it a point to step out and ride on weekends to gain confidence," Bokil says.
She hit a peak mileage of around 800km last month, including a 260km. It was when she realised that though her average speed hadn’t increased substantially, she felt a lot fresher during the second half of the ride.“The idea was to be on my feet all day and then pedal through the night. That ride gave me confidence that my training was on point and will help me, especially after the first 12 hours of the race," she says.
The distance of Deccan Cliffhanger is a challenge for those who will be racing in the self-supported category. They will need to look out for everything from navigation to nutrition and hydration along the route, which can get tricky during nighttime. One such rider is Delton D’Souza. He began 2024 with a 400km training ride and followed it up with multiple 200km efforts over the next few months. In August, he rode about 900km in Ladakh over three weeks, while tackling an elevation gain of around 14,000 metres. It included his first self-supported ultra cycling race, the Great Himalayan Ultra, where he rode 444km from Leh to Kargil and back.
Also Read How Tenzin Dolma of Manali aced the Silk Route Ultra in Ladakh
Since recovering from an illness five weeks ago, much of his focus has been on logging distances, where he registered a maximum weekly mileage of 396km. One such effort saw him ride 113km during the day and take on 170km the same evening.
“The idea was to push the body on tired legs. Since a lot of my focus has been on endurance, I want to put in some interval and threshold training work to build on speed before I hit the taper phase. I have been tackling these big distances for the last couple of years and the moment you can do it alone and self-supported, you are mentally prepared to take on races like these," says D’Souza.
All of his riding has unfolded on the streets and highways of Mumbai, which can get challenging, especially when it comes to training for elevation. Off the bike, D’Souza includes strength training and basic bodyweight exercises as part of his routine, as well as a few easy-paced runs.“This entire year I’ve been training to simply complete races. Next year, I’ll be looking to compete in ultra cycling races and also run a few self-supported trail races, so I’ll modify my training accordingly," he says.
Also Read How ultra cyclist Kabir Rachure cycled 900km through Ladakh to set a record
Rachure’s races throughout 2024 have been in preparation for the gruelling 3,000-mile Race Across America in June 2025. As defending champion of the Deccan Cliffhanger, he’ll be looking to improve on his timing of 21 hours 57 minutes from 2023.“I’ve increased my training hours by almost 70% since my last race at the start of November. For me, it’s all about bettering my previous mark to see how fast I can go, irrespective of the route," Rachure says.
Shail Desai is a Mumbai-based freelance writer.
