Shimla’s cycling sensation 17-year-old Rajbir Singh on Tuesday became the 11th athlete to be inducted in the Hero Action Team, India’s first fully-supported MTB (Mountain Biking) team, run jointly by Hero Cycles and HASTPA.

The team identifies and nurtures talent in the sport of mountain biking and it has been running for 7 years now and has produced former and current national champions over the years.

The likes of Shiven, national medalist Devender and Akshit Gaur were all identified and nurtured under this initiative.

Rajbir comes from a family of sportsmen who became passionate about cycling after watching international riders who used to come to Shimla for MTB Himalaya.

A resident of Dhalli in Shimla, Rajbir aims to participate in international MTB Races across the world representing India.

He has been a top performer for the past 2 years in circuits and ranked third (overall) and won the U-19 category in Hero Sprint MTB Shimla. His ultimate goal is to win the World Championship and represent India in the Olympics.

Rajbir idolises Dutch cyclist Mathieu Van der Pol and his favourite riding places are Shimla and Himalaya mountains (higher altitude for training).

Rajbir thanked Hero Cycles and HASTPA for this opportunity and said they were the pioneers of promoting athletes and talent in the country and I’m honored to be riding for the biggest bicycle brand in the country.

“I was always fond of riding as I used to ride my cousin’s cycle and run down the streets as I used to see my friends riding. My family was also aware that I am crazy about riding cycles so my father bought me a mountain bike at the age of 14.

I was always aware of MTB Himalaya, an international event as many riders used to cross my shop during the race weeks.

Foreign riders always kept me motivated by their way of riding. That’s what motivated me to get serious about cycling and racing.

As a member of the hero action team, I want to win all the races I compete in. I hope I can represent my team and country across the World Olympics and the World Championship is my ultimate goal,” he added.