Month: April 2017

Top-notch bikers from across India and the globe are coming together yet again for the  Hero MTB Shimla, one of India’s most prestigious and highly anticipated mountain biking races that kicks off on April 15th. This year, for the first time in the history of Hero MTB Shimla, riders will be able to contend in a team of two category; besides previously existing categories which included open men solo, open women solo, student category, and masters solo. With the introduction of new category, Indian riders will get an exposure to riding in race formats followed by international races like BikeTransalp, demonstrating teamwork and other skills.
Set in a background that calls out to adventure lovers, mountain bikers, as well as nature lovers, this race will take the riders through some of the most pristine parts of the Shivalik Mountains, also known as the lesser Himalayas. What sets this year’s Hero MTB apart is not just the new hilly and adventurous track, but also participation of myriad of enthusiastic riders who are the role models for the sports-loving community audience, taking the most-anticipated mountain bike race of the year to new heights of glory altogether! Hero Cycles and Himalayan Adventure Sports & Tourism Promotion (HASTPA) today unveiled the roadmap of the 2-day marathon type MTB race covering a whopping 120 km and a total elevation gain of 2500-3500 m. The cross-country adventure race will take place along different types of tracks including off-road, broken tarmac, rocks, sands, mud, streams, tarmac, and moving along wildlife sanctuaries, Himalayan countryside, streams, rivulets, village backroads, beautiful meadows, and so on.At the opening ceremony of the 2-day adventure-packed extravaganza aimed to promote holistic adventure tourism in Himachal Pradesh, visible excitement was seen among the participants who pledged to take the love of mountain biking to the next level.“Mountain biking as a sport is gaining rapid popularity in India, and events like Hero MTB Shimla have played a vital role in popularizing this sport. It is one of the toughest sports in terms of the need for endurance and skill, and requires a lot of mental and physical strength as well as training. Hero Cycles’ association with mountain biking sport is not limited only to events such as MTB Shimla or MTB Himalayas; our association is more deep rooted in the fact that we are working at encouraging youngsters to take up the sports professionally by nurturing young talent, training and grooming them to participate in national and international cycling events. This reflects our commitment to contribute to the growth of this sport in India,” said Mr. Pankaj Munjal, Chairman and Managing Director, Hero Cycles Pvt. Ltd.“It is a proud moment for us to witness Mountain Biking and Hero MTB Shimla growing so much. This time we have introduced the City Championship to further foster the MTB culture in India. It gives riders an additional impetus to achieve more,” said Mohit Sood, President, HASTPA.The City Championship continues to be a much anticipated part of the event. Notably, the 6th edition of the race will offer more challenges and competition in various categories with professional bikers from cities like Gurgaon, Manali, Jaipur, Bangalore, and Chandigarh taking part. Last year Shimla was crowned at the champion city, and out of the 9 contenders, boys from Shimla claimed the trophy with Devender winning the open men solo and Akshit winning the student category.Hero MTB Shimla 2016 had established itself to become a hunt to handpick the best MTB city of India.The Hero-HASTPA Collaboration & the Hero Action Team Hero Cycles, the world’s largest integrated cycle manufacturer, partnered with HASTPA in 2014 to bring about a change in the mountain biking scenario in India. Hero MTB Himalaya and Hero MTB Shimla are the result of this collaboration. The Hero and HASTPA association has provided a platform for promoting and nurturing young talent in mountain biking with the establishment of school level programmes and mountain biking training academies. This partnership has also seen the rise of the Hero Action Team, India’s first professionally managed mountain biking team. The team has 8 riders – Ankush Arya (Captain), Gurman Reen, Sanchit Sood, Devendar Thakur, Sarah Appelt, Akshit Gaur, Akash Sherpa and Shiven Sharma. These young turks have been earning a reputation for themselves as the rising stars of India in the mountain biking world.

Route details for 6th Hero MTB Shimla 2017

Day-1 Route

Shimla – Sadhupul – Chail – Sadhupul

Day-2 Route

Sadhupul – Junaidghat – Koti – Chini Bungalow – Kufri – Shimla

Highest Point:

2650m at Chini Bungalow

Hero Cycles is the largest cycle producer in the world, and is a clear leader in terms of standards in the overall domestic market. Selling over five lakh units a month, Hero Cycles, plays a dominant role in the bicycle industry in India who have recently acquired Avocet, Firefox, and BSH. With its base, Hero Cycles has managed to achieve a consistent growth through its strong focus on increasing its volumes. At a press conference here today, Hero Cycles discussed its journey towards becoming a highly diversified conglomerate and announced its plans to keep widening its business ventures beyond automobiles.
“This is a proud moment for us and we hope that this shift in image will help us in achieving our goals for the coming year. Hero is not just about cycles and automobiles. Today, we are diversifying into different business interests and hope to continue our winning run in every field. Through Hero Motors Company, we envelop all our diverse business ventures under one roof. We are the first ever company to achieve a sale of over 6 lakh units in a month in the history of India’s cycle industry and we are hopeful to strive in the same manner in all our endeavours”, says Pankaj Munjal, Chairman and Managing Director, Hero Cycles Ltd. The company has also opened the Global Design Centre (GDC) in Manchester, UK to develop next generation bikes based on the latest technology. This design centre will help Hero Motors Company produce technology and design catering to the differentiated products to suit the needs of different European markets. In the years to come, Hero Motors Company envisions a mobile and empowered world powered by two wheelers. This new identity of the company reflects their commitment towards providing world class mobility solutions with a renewed focus on expanding the company’s footprint in the global arena in the years to come.After excelling in the arena of mobility, automotive, and engineering Hero Motors Company has also branched out to acquire and venture into lifestyle, and hospitality. This diversification shifts the focus of Hero Cycles to Hero Commercial Towers in Gurgaon as a remarkable destination recognized for setting new standards in Commercial / Retail spaces of India. Their luxury lifestyle brand, Oma aims to bring global luxury in the lifestyle segment to India at affordable prices.

Hero Cycles Pvt. Ltd, the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer, has announced its new IPL partnership as the Principal Sponsor of Kings XI Punjab, the home team of the company which is headquartered in Ludhiana. The major announcement comes ahead of the tenth season of one of the world’s most watched cricketing events that features leading players from across the world alongside local Indian talent
Kings XI Punjab will be led into the tenth season by Australian batting sensation Glenn Maxwell while Indian legend Virender Sehwag is coaching the squad. The partnership as the main sponsor of the popular IPL franchise reinforces Hero Cycles’ commitment to supporting sporting activities in India and engaging with youth in a wider way. “We are very happy to announce this association as this marks our coming together with our home IPL team which we wholeheartedly support. It is a pleasure to support Kings XI Punjab in their pursuit for IPL glory. IPL is without doubt India’s most popular sporting event, and is watched by millions of people not just in India butt across the globe. Through this partnership our objective is to reach out to the millions of cricket fans, particularly the youth,” says Mr. Pankaj Munjal, Chairman & Managing Director, Hero Cycles Pvt Ltd. The team boasts of some of the world’s most talented players including South African batting mainstay Hashim Amla; England ODI and T20 captain Eoin Morgan; West Indies all rounder Darren Sammy; and Australian batsmen Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis, among others. The leading Indian players on the Kings XI squad include Wriddhiman Saha, Axar Patel, Varun Aaron, Manan Wohra, and Mohit Sharma, among others. Hero Cycles has been one of India’s most trusted and dependable mass brands over decades, and has also been supporting sporting events in India. Hero Cycles was associated with the Royal Challengers Bangalore team in the last season. In recent years, Hero Cycles is working aggressively to transform itself from the market leader in India to a company that enjoys global dominance. The initiatives have included steps to diversify its product range, introduce a series of lifestyle products, youth centric bicycles and global acquisitions. In 2012, the company introduced a premium range of Urban Trail bicycles specially for the urban lifestyle segment. The acquisition of Firefox Bikes in 2015 marked another strategic move at the transition. Hero Cycles has recently opened a global research centre in Manchester to undertake aggressive research on improving bicycle engineering and design as part of its efforts to expand presence across the world.