Written by Ajay JadhavPune | September 23, 2025 10:23 PM IST 3 min readPMC Chief Engineer Annirudha Pawaskar said that it was a moment of pride for the city to host the four day international cycle event scheduled in January next year. (representational image)With a task in hand to make 75 km of city roads rider-friendly for the Pune Grand Challenge Tour cycling event in January 2026, the Pune civic body will be removing 200 speed breakers, plastic bumps and raised crossings and will repair 400 damaged chamber covers and metal gratings while bringing it to road level.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO“The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has a task on hand to develop a rider-friendly road for the international cycle race. We have to complete the work by November end and would spend Rs 145.75 crore for it,” said municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram.PMC Chief Engineer Annirudha Pawaskar said that it was a moment of pride for the city to host the four day international cycle event scheduled in January next year.“The route has been finalised for the cycle race which begins from Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji sports complex in Balewadi and has to be developed as per international standards for rider friendly road” he said.The road should be even and ensure safety of cyclists, Pawaskar said, “The road development would include removing 200 speed breakers, rumblers, plastic bumps and raised crossings. The route also has 400 drainage chambers which will be repaired and concrete lids will be used to level the road.”Safety barricades, railings would be put along the carriage width and new signage posts will be installed throughout the route, he said adding the 450 km race for four days will pass through Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Baramati, Mulshi, Maval, Purandar, Bhor, and Velhe. “The PMC will develop only 75 km of the stretch that passes through the PMC and Pune Cantonment Board area. There are stretches of 53 roads to be developed for the race,” said Pawaskar.As per directions, the minimum road width should be 7 metre and international roughness index should be 1.5 to 2 metre per kilometre while ensuring that it will be suitable for cycle speed of 70 to 80 km per hour.Story continues below this adPawaskar said the only one side of the road of the cycle route stretch would be developed as per norms. “The work will be taken up in four packages so that it is developed by four different contractors speedily and with accuracy. No contractor will be allowed to work on more than one package. Those not performing the work on time will be fined Rs 50 thousand per day. The quality of the road should be such that it does not get damaged during the defect liability period of next ten years,” he said.The Pune Grand Challenge Tour is the first professional multi-stage cycling event in India, inspired by races such as the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.The Cycling Federation of India and the Maharashtra government jointly organise the Pune Grand Challenge Tour. It is recognised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and will serve as a qualifier for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read MoreClick here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd