Aigle (Switzerland), Aug 3: Young cyclist Harshita Jakhar rode into history books by becoming the first Indian woman to be a part of the Tour de France Femmes here.
The 19-year-old led a pack of eight talented cyclists from Afghanistan, Algeria, Chile, Ethiopia (two riders), Namibia and Uganda during the ceremonial start at Stage 2 of the gruelling race on Sunday. The event started on August 1 in Lausanne and will end on August 9 in Nice.
The team, handpicked by UCI (Union Cycliste de Internationale), cycled 4.5 kilometres on a neutralised section of the course along with some riders from the WCC Road Team.
Tour de France Femmes is the women’s multi-stage cycling race that corresponds to the men’s Tour de France. It is part of the UCI Women’s World Tour calendar.
UCI President David Lappartient joined the riders on the start podium before the stage and expressed his delight at seeing an Indian in the mix.
“We are excited to have India’s very talented Harshita Jakhar in our prestigious UCI World Cycling Talent programme. I am sure she will love being part of the Tour de France Femmes and will soon return to take part in the actual competition,” he said in a UCI statement.
The riders, who began ahead of the professional peloton, are chosen from different National Federations that do not have a high performance pathway of their own and don’t have access to European coaching, training facilities and racing.
“Ever since I fell in love with cycling as a child, thanks to my father, I have dreamt of the Tour de France. I am thankful to UCI for giving me this opportunity to ride with other talented cyclists at the start of the Second Stage of the race for women,” Harshita said.
Hailing from Rajasthan, Harshita has been making waves on the Indian cycling circuit, sweeping almost all the medals on offer in junior category and winning regularly in the seniors section too. Her aim is to finish among the Top 10 at the 2026 Asian Games, and win a medal in the 2030 Games.
As a Target Asian Games Group athlete, she trains at the SAI National Centre of Excellence in Patiala, with her father-coach Rakesh Jakhar, who himself is a former cyclist who had competed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and is a qualified coach from NIS Patiala. (PTI)
