When the peloton threads through the Pune Grand Tour starting 19 January, Surya Ramesh Thathu won't be racing a Grand Tour; he'll be riding roads he knows by instinct. For the Pimpri-Chinchwad native, the home Tour is a meeting point of origins, grit, and a sudden international spotlight that has arrived in his backyard.
Surya didn't start life on a bike. He began as a national-level inline skater, and that unconventional pedigree still shows in his riding. "Balancing on those four wheels was harder, actually, than cycling," he says, describing the uneasy advantage that helped him switch sports quickly than most.
What began as cross-training soon became a calling: early successes in school events nudged him toward competitive cycling and eventually
to national gold.
"That win made me realise that I can go further in the sport, and now I can look at the bigger picture and try to represent the country on the international level and maybe perform really well. And that's the aim still. " Surya says of his breakthrough at the 25th National Road Cycling Championships - a victory that reframed ambition into a tangible roadmap.
Pune Grand Tour plan of action
The Pune Tour brings the Indian team together under one banner, and having raced against most of his teammates for years, familiarity already exists. A preparatory camp in Patiala has helped convert rivalry into cohesion.
"Now, riding together, we all know what each other's strengths and weaknesses are," Surya explains, adding that the focus is on covering for one another, attacking when needed, bridging gaps and turning individual weaknesses into collective strength.
On paper, Surya is a sprinter: explosive on flat finishes and capable of surviving medium climbs. In practice, Indian racing rarely affords specialists the luxury of single-tasking. "I have to chase, I have to attack, I have to go in a breakaway if there's a chance, I have to sit behind and then sprint," he says, explaining why his role often blends sprinting with tactical, race-surviving work.
This versatility will be vital in a Tour that shifts each day from Sahyadri foothills to fast urban starts.
The Pune route's variety changes preparation and priorities. Surya's team is regional, not a commercial outfit built around a single star, so strategy becomes collective: protect climbers on the hills, set up sprinters on the flats and accept personal sacrifices for team goals. Personally, for Surya, familiarity with local roads offers a subtle edge.
Yet home advantage brings its own weight: "It's my home crowd, even my parents will come to the race," he explains. "But then, you have that small tension, that pressure to perform and win something for them. To make them smile. "
He believes the Tour's scale matters beyond podiums. With more than 170 riders from 30+ countries, the event gives Indian cyclists rare, high-quality exposure with their international peers.
"We need a lot of international exposure, and getting it in our own country would be the biggest thing. The best part about it, having (the Tour) in your own country and then you don't need to spend a lot of money," Surya points out - a pragmatic argument for the long tail benefits: sponsorship interest, UCI points on home soil and visibility that can inspire a new generation.
And he wants fans to see what TV often misses. "A sprint win looks like one rider crossing the line first," he says, noting the invisible labour: riders chasing breaks, controlling pace, and sewing together a finish that only reveals itself in the last few metres. "
As the Pune Tour approaches, Surya rides with two things in mind: team duty and a personal push to prove that Indian cycling belongs on the world stage - starting, crucially, at home.
