Vivaan Sapru, an 18-year-old cyclist, from Mumbai won a silver medal in the individual pursuit event track cycling event at the Khelo India Youth Games held in Delhi. For the second year in a row, Vivaan has won a medal in the men’s junior age group at the Khelo India Youth Games.
Vivaan’s journey as a learner:
Vivaan started his cycling career with Coach Rahul Rane of LXT united Skating Academy in Pune in June 2017. Vivaan took the sport of cycling seriously and with the help of Pratap Jadhav and Dipali Patil of the Cycling Association of Maharashtra, he undertook road and track cycling training under Darshan Barguje from October 2017 at Balewadi. After becoming the only competitor to win gold in the entire series (District, Zone, State, National) in 2017, he was invited by the SAI (Sports Authority of India) National Cycling Academy in Delhi to train and play for his country. Vivaan joined SAINCA in May 2018 and Anil Kumar and then V. N. Singh
Continued training him for 2 years. Post a gap of 1 year due to the pandemic Covid, To master his skills further, with the guidance of Nigel Smith, he went to the UK in November 2021 for 6 months for world-class structured training and keen guidance from TrainSharp Institute Director Jon Sharples and trainer Connor Murphy, who helped him continue on his racing and development path.
Vivaan’s Achievements:
Vivaan won a gold medal in the 4 km track cycling event in the men’s elite category at the recently held Maharashtra State Olympic Games at Balewadi Pune and also broke the Balewadi Velodrome track record of 5.17 minutes by clocking a new track record of 5.07 minutes.
He was also invited by CAM (Cycling Association of Maharashtra) to participate in the JIO Mumbai Cyclothon to race on the Worli Sea Link a distance of 75 kms. This was one of the most prestigious competitions held by CAM, wherein Vivaan was racing against the top senior riders from Maharashtra. He participated in the Men Elite category for the first time in his racing career and bagged the Bronze. He also competed in team pursuit at the Asian Track Cycling Championship and won the Bronze for our Country.
Vivaan’s Aim:
He is aiming to compete in the world championships and acquire the Rainbow Jersey that is awarded to the first place winner of UCI World Cycling Championships.
