Track Cycling in Tripura

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Wikipedia — Esow Alben, List of Indian records in track cycling, Olympics.com — Esow Alben profile and career coverage, CNN — Esow Alben feature, ESPN — Indian cycling Paris Olympics coverage, The Bridge — India's most successful cyclists, Hindustan Times (via PressReader) — 2022 Asian Track Championships coaching controversy. These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: 19th century
Category: Cycling
Olympic discipline: Yes
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Olympic (TOPS eligible)
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 2

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: CFI
Ministry recognition: Cycling Federation of India — Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — as at 2026Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — List of recognised National Sports Federations
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: In scope — TOPS covers Olympic medal prospects
Olympic status: On the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Track Cycling is listed on SportSupport in the cycling category. Its recorded origin is 19th century. It is on the Olympic programme. We list CFI as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Track Cycling is on the pathway that runs through India's national sports federations to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), with selection running through CFI against its published benchmarks. Being on this pathway is not itself a statement that the discipline is currently in TOPS — TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group chosen by the Mission Olympic Cell.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for track cycling athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Monthly stipend (₹10,000 for selected Khelo India athletes), boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)
Central government scheme covering training, foreign exposure, equipment and an out-of-pocket allowance (up to ₹50,000/month) for athletes inducted by the Mission Olympic Cell. TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines rather than every Olympic sport, and induction is decided athlete by athlete; we hold no current list confirming whether track cycling is among the covered disciplines.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to track cycling.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension (₹20,000 for Olympic/World/Asian/CWG medallists; scaled by tier) for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria — Government of India.

Explore all government schemes →

Indian Players

2 profiles

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Rules

Track cycling is raced on a banked oval velodrome (250m for modern indoor tracks) on fixed-gear bikes with no brakes. Sprint events — match sprint, keirin, team sprint and 500m/1km time trial — are decided over a few laps at maximum power, with the match sprint run as head-to-head knockout heats and the keirin contested by six riders paced behind a derny before a final sprint. Endurance events include individual and team pursuit, points race, scratch race, madison, elimination and the omnium. Riders must hold their line in sprints; dangerous deviation, entering the sprinters' lane illegally or causing a crash brings relegation or disqualification.

Authoritative rulebook: CFI. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across cycling sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced track cycling squad list.

Road — sprinter / climber / GC
Rider roles across stage races and one-day classics.
Track — sprint & endurance
Sprint, keirin, team sprint on one side; pursuit, points race, madison on the other.
MTB & BMX
Cross-country, downhill and BMX racing / freestyle.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in track cycling at a federation-recognised event.

Fixed-gear track bicycle (no freewheel, no brakes)
Disc or deep-section aerodynamic wheels
Aero helmet and skinsuit
Stiff-soled cycling shoes with toe straps or clipless pedals
Chainring/sprocket sets for gear selection per event
250m banked indoor velodrome

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Cycling Federation of India

Cycling Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Track Cycling. Its recognition status as we hold it: Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (as at 2026). Recognition is granted year by year, so read the federation profile for the source.

Origin: 19th century
Olympic: Yes
Paralympic: No
Category: Cycling

CFI profile →All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in track cycling.

Track Asia Cup and National Track Cycling Championships
Organized by the Cycling Federation of India (CFI). India's 250m indoor velodrome at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, New Delhi (built for the 2010 Commonwealth Games) is the country's primary training and competition venue — reportedly in serious disrepair as recently as the mid-2010s before investment turned the programme around.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in track cycling.

UCI Track Cycling World Championships
Esow Alben became the first Indian to win any medal at a Cycling World Championship (silver, keirin, 2018 Junior Worlds — missing gold by just 0.017 seconds), and later the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of the senior World Championships (2022). India's 2019 junior team (Alben, Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam, Rojit Singh Yanglem) won a shock team sprint gold over Australia and Great Britain at the Junior World Championships.
Asian Games / Asian Track Championships
India has historically not been a medal contender in track cycling at Asian level, though this generation has changed that with multiple continental medals and repeated national records.
UCI world rankings
Deborah Herold became the first Indian cyclist to enter UCI's official rankings, in the 500m time trial.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for track cycling. The national championship under CFI remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised track cycling athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for track cycling maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in track cycling — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

India's current wave of elite track cyclists is remarkably concentrated in one place: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a small, remote union territory that has produced Esow Alben, Deborah Herold and David Beckham Elkatohchoongo
Both Alben and Herold survived the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as young children — Herold, then nine years old, survived by climbing a tree for several days
SAI funds regular European training and competition trips for elite cyclists given the shortage of domestic competition; playing pathway through CFI's national and youth championships
Worth noting honestly: in 2022 the national chief coach's contract was terminated after a woman cyclist alleged sexual harassment during a training camp in Slovenia, with other athletes reporting a difficult team environment at the time — a reminder that athlete welfare and governance remain real, ongoing concerns alongside the sport's competitive progress

Explore sports careers →Coaches directory →

Related academies

9 listed

SAI North-East Regional Centre, ImphalNational
Imphal, Manipur · Since 1985
Northeast's premier residential centre, running nine NCOE disciplines from archery and cycling to wushu and weightlifting.
SAI Lakshmibai National College of PE, ThiruvananthapuramNational
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala · Since 1965
Sport-science college and NCOE centre for southern India across athletics, cycling, fencing, taekwondo and volleyball.
Netaji Sports Complex, Sri Vijaya PuramNational
Sri Vijaya Puram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Andaman & Nicobar's notified Khelo India State Centre of Excellence for swimming, badminton and cycling. Khelo India records it as non-operational with no trainees.
Mega Sports Complex, Hotwar, RanchiNational
Ranchi, Jharkhand
Jharkhand's Khelo India State Centre of Excellence at the Hotwar mega sports complex, Ranchi.
SAI National Centre of Excellence, ThiruvananthapuramNational
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
SAI's six-discipline National Centre of Excellence in Thiruvananthapuram.
SAI National Centre of Excellence, GuwahatiNational
Guwahati, Assam
SAI's Guwahati centre — a seven-discipline National Centre of Excellence and the regional centre campus for the North East.
SAI National Centre of Excellence, IG Stadium, New DelhiNational
New Delhi, Delhi
SAI's National Centre of Excellence for cycling and gymnastics at IG Stadium, New Delhi.
Composite sports pre-university college, A/P.K. ChandargiState
A/P.K. Chandargi, Karnataka
Khelo India accredited academy in A/P.K. Chandargi, Karnataka. Accredited disciplines as published: Cycling.
SATS Cycling Academy, Osmania University Campus, Tarnaka, HyderabadState
Hyderabad, Telangana
Khelo India accredited academy in Hyderabad, Telangana. Accredited disciplines as published: Cycling.

All academies →List your academy →

FAQs

Common questions about track cycling in India.

Who governs Track Cycling in India?▾

We list CFI as the Indian governing/organising body for Track Cycling, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Track Cycling an Olympic sport?▾

Yes, Track Cycling is on the Olympic programme. Athletes selected by CFI against its published criteria can be considered for TOPS funding.

How do I start playing Track Cycling in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under CFI. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Track Cycling athletes?▾

TOPS supports a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines selected by the Mission Olympic Cell, rather than every Olympic sport. We hold no current list confirming whether Track Cycling is among them, so we make no TOPS claim for it. State governments give cash awards to medallists at events they notify. Track Cycling does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Track Cycling in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Track Cycling in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.