New Zealand’s Luke Mudgway emerged as the very first winner of the Bajaj Pune Grand Tour 2026, which finished on Friday at Pune’s Balgandharva Auditorium.
Stage 4 of the Pune Grand Tour, also called the Pune Pride Loop, began at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi Stadium, at 1:30 PM, and the streets of Pune were full of excitement. Cyclists covered a 95-km urban circuit passing through Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad that included major landmarks and busy roads.
Bajaj Pune Grand Tour is India’s first UCI 2.2 classified men’s road race that has attracted 171 riders from 35 countries across 29 teams. Over the past four days, cyclists have tested their endurance as they navigated through steep climbs, sharp corners and long stretches across the Deccan Plateau and the Sahyadri Range.
After winning the first stage of the Pune Grand Tour on Tuesday, Luke Mudgway recorded another win in the second stage of the event on Wednesday. Termed the Maratha Heritage Circuit, the 105.3-km route passed through steep climbs like the Bopdev ghat and is considered to be the most challenging stage of the four-day race.
The stage started from the Ladies Club in Camp at 12:30 pm and finished along Sinhagad Road at Nanded City. Mudgway represented the Li Ning Star, the team from China and finished with a time of 02:31:49.
Mudgway said after the win on Tuesday, “It was a really tough race. My teammates rode amazingly. A lot of teams tried to attack us during the end, but we stayed strong, and I had a teammate help me for the last 10k after the climb, and he rode us into the finish.”
The top six riders clocked the same finish time of 02:31:49, with the rankings being awarded based on a photo finish. Alan Carter Bettles of Roojai Insurance Winspeed, Thailand, finished second, while Yorben Lauryssen of Tarteletto–Isorex, Belgium, claimed third place.
Lauryssen also recorded a consecutive podium finish. With this win, Mudgway was handed a 10-second bonus, Beetles a six-second bonus, whereas Lauryssen was handed a four-second bonus.
