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Cyclist Harshita Jakhar made history, becoming the first Indian woman to feature in the Tour de France Femmes 2026, leading a group of cyclists round the ceremonial start of Stage Two in Aigle, Switzerland, on Sunday.
As per Olympics.com, the 19-year-old Harshita, hailing from Rajasthan, was amongst the eight cyclists on Sunday selected for the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Cycling Talent Programme, which provides exposure to elite cycling competition and an environment for players from developing cycling nations. The group had cyclists from Afghanistan, Algeria, Chile, Ethiopia, Namibia and Uganda, and they completed a neutralised 4.5 km ride ahead of the professional peloton before Stage Two of the race. The Tour de France is the annual women's road cycling stage race and is a part of the UCI Women's World Tour calendar as one of its biggest and longest events. It started on August 1 in Lausanne and will conclude on August 9 in Nice. UCI president David Lappartient welcomed the participation of the Indian cyclist, optimistic that she would one day return in the Tour de France Femmes. "We are excited to have India's very talented Harshita Jakhar in our prestigious UCI World Cycling Talent Programme," Lappartient said. "I am sure she will love being part of the Tour de France Femmes and will soon return to take part in the actual competition," he added. Harshita's training base is the Sports Authority of India's National Centre of Excellence in Patiala, where she trains under the guidance of her father and former cyclist Rakesh Jakhar, who competed in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. She announced herself as a serious national cyclist with three gold medals in the 2025 Khelo India Youth Games and has won a silver and two bronze medals at the 2024 Asian Junior Cycling Championships. (ANI)
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