Mysuru: Cyclothon, a bicycle race organised jointly by the Dasara Sports Sub-Committee and the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports as part of Dasara celebrations, was flagged off in city this morning.

As rain wrecked havoc in city since last evening till early morning today, a technical team inspected the race route resulting in delayed start of the race. It was only after the technical team gave a green signal, the race (both men and women) was flagged off from Chamundi Vihar Stadium by IGP (Southern Range) Vipul Kumar in the presence of ADC T. Yogesh, SP Ravi D. Chennannavar, KSRP Commandant Raghunath, CESC GM Satish Kumar, Sports Dept. Joint Director K.L. Subash Chandra and Mysuru District Cycling Association President Arun Patil, who rode Trin Trin bicycles for a distance before returning to the starting point.

In the men’s category, more than 100 cyclists including a 30-member team from KSRP, Ekalvya Awardee and international cyclist from Mysuru N. Lokesh, International cyclists Sridhar of Shavanur in North Karnataka, Mallappa of Bagalkot, Mallik Rehan and others are taking part in the race for a distance of 100 km. In the 50 km race for women, 30 woman cyclists including Lena of Germany and Vicki of Thailand, both settled in Bengaluru are participating. A pilot bike led the cyclists with an ambulance following in the end.

Route: The cyclists who began from Chamundi Vihar Stadium, passed through SP Office Circle, Theobald Road, Chikkahalli, Varuna, Varakodu, Megalapura, Gargeshwari, T.N. Pur, Kurubur, Tagarupura and other places before culminating at Devi Keri atop Chamundi Hill.

Prizes: Ten cyclists from each category (Men and Women) will be selected and prizes; 1st- Rs. 30,000; 2nd- Rs. 25,000; 3rd- Rs. 20,000; 4th- Rs. 15,000; 5th- Rs. 10,000 and from 6th to 10th place, Rs. 5,000 would be given as cash prizes.