The first Indian cyclist to go professional, his passion and commitment to the sport are evident in this freewheeling chat. Meet Naveen John, who bagged two golds at the recently held 22nd National Road Cycling Championships at Jamkhandi in Karnataka.
Ask the zealous cyclist about his rendezvous with pedal-pushing and Naveen says, “I have been riding for nine years now. I got onto the bicycle when I was in college in the US, where I was doing engineering. I had signed up for this charity ride and fell in love with riding. I have been racing bikes across US, Europe, etc for eight years now.”
When he moved back to India in 2012, Naveen was keen to learn more about the Indian cycling scene. “The cycling culture here was starting to move forward, this encouraged me to jump and make the move back home,” he states.
When he did his first National Championship in India, the huge difference between the desi cycling scene and the West gave him a shock. “Things here are not as organised as in the US. Training is a challenge, and accommodation for athletes is not thought about. But I came here knowing what the challenges would be, so I don’t want use that as an excuse,” he adds.
Having represented Ciclo Team Racing in his latest national outing, Naveen went on to win two golds in the Men’s Elite Individual Time Trial (ITT), as well as the Men’s Elite Road Race (RR). “Ciclo are the people who’ve been behind me this year. They realise that it’s important for young athletes to develop the right way. They want to be an aspirational set up for youngsters where athletes don’t have to worry about equipment and can focus solely on performance.”
Currently, Naveen juggles three major roles — that of a full-time athlete, a coach and a mentor at Ciclo. Ask him what advice he’d want to give youngsters in India who are aspiring to be professional cyclists, and he answers, “It’s extremely important to have support structure — sponsors, friends, family, coaches etc. Sport in this country is incredibly challenging. So athletes should work towards earning support. Commit to your sport and don’t be someone with the ‘whiny athlete syndrome’. Think what you can do to change a situation. Plan a three-month trip to Europe and race at the top level.” The cyclist, who now calls Bengaluru home, is gearing up to go to Europe to train with the Lotto Soudal team in the coming months. “I’m beyond excited about the opportunity to train with one of the best professional teams in the sport. Belgium is the cultural heartland of bike racing,” he says.
