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Opening event of cycling race throws Pune city out of whack
The Pune Grand Challenge cycling race caused major disruptions on January 19, 2026, closing roads and forcing thousands to alter their commutes.
The prologue event of the international ‘Pune Grand Challenge Tour’ cycling race caused widespread disruption of daily life on Monday, January 19, 2026 as major arterial roads across the city remained closed between 9 am and 6 pm, impacting office-goers, daily wage workers and students and forcing many Punekars to either begin their commute much earlier than usual or take an unplanned day off from work. With both public and private transport restricted across key city corridors, Punekars faced considerable inconvenience throughout the day.
The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) was forced to cancel nearly 2,500 and divert more than 150 bus trips. The suspension of services was particularly felt along Fergusson College Road, Jangli Maharaj Road and University Road, and their connecting lanes. The Deccan bus depot remained closed for the day, while several buses connecting Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad were either cancelled or diverted via Senapati Bapat Road and Pune station, further delaying commuters.
The cycling event, organised by the Pune district administration in coordination with the Cycling Federation of India, is scheduled between January 19 and 24. The route for the opening race on Monday passed through several busy locations including Goodluck Chowk, Lalit Mahal Chowk, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Chowk (Chaphekar Chowk), Range Hills, Sancheti Chowk, Bal Gandharva Chowk and Deccan Gymkhana bus stand. Due to this, vehicular movement was restricted on these roads for a whole nine hours, causing traffic congestion on alternate routes.
Several commuters expressed frustration over the lack of planning. “I left home two hours earlier than usual, but still reached my office late. Autos refused to go toward the Deccan area and buses were simply not available,” said Aniket Bhattad, a private sector employee from Karve Nagar. Domestic worker Sunita Kamble said that she had to cancel going to work for the day. “I depend entirely on PMPML buses. With no buses running on my route, I had no option but to take the day off and lose my wages,” she said.
Sanjay Shitole of PMP Pravasi Manch strongly criticised the authorities for poor planning. “This international event should ideally have been held on a Sunday. Such large-scale road closures on a working Monday directly affect common citizens, especially those from economically weaker sections completely dependent on PMPML buses for daily travel. We are happy that Pune is hosting an international cycling race, but it should not come at the cost of Punekars’ daily routine. Proper planning and public communication should have been carried out much earlier,” Shitole said.
A senior PMPML official, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that the situation was challenging. “We had no option but to cancel and divert a large number of trips due to complete road closures. While we support city-level events, such disruptions put tremendous pressure on public transport operations, and inconvenience passengers,” the official said.
