Cyclist Sreenath Lakshmikanth’s journey to the two silver medals at the recently concluded 37th National Games, Goa, started out of necessity. It started when he began cycling to and from school, TD School at Thuravoor, Cherthala, in Kerala’s Alappuzha district. He cycled close to 10 kilometres one way, as he could not afford the bus fare. Today, besides representing Tamil Nadu at National cycling events, he runs a cycling academy, SL7 High Altitude Training Centre in Ooty.
“I am satisfied with the result at this year’s National Games. All my hard work has paid off,” says the 27 year old over the phone from Ooty. He won the medals in the Road Race (120 kilometres) and Individual Time Trial (41 kilometres) categories; last year he won a bronze in the Mass Start category. Preparation for the big races has been all about working hard, “I moved to Palakkad temporarily before this year’s National Games in order to get acclimatised to the heat to be well-prepared for Goa,” he says.
He confesses he didn’t start out wanting to be a cyclist, “I was more interested in ultra endurance running, however I got into cycling in competitions while I was at the Maharaja’s College, Kochi.” He acknowledges the support from Kochi-based Cochin Bikers Club, and The Bike Store for their support when he started out in the sport.
Confidence boost
Competing at inter-collegiate and university level events and winning medals were a boost to his confidence. Following his performance at the 2014 State sport’s meet, he was picked for the Kerala team.
Cyclist Milan Josy, his senior on the Kerala team, showed him the ropes of training for competitions. The next year, in 2015, he won a bronze medal at a State-level competition, which strengthened his resolve to focus more on road cycling and train accordingly. His hard work paid off and in 2017, he won a gold at the State meet. The first real breakthrough for Sreenath came when he joined Cicolo Team Racing, gaining Naveen John (the current Road Cycling ITT gold medallist at the Goa Games) as mentor and moving to Bengaluru.
At the UK Gran Fondo
“That was the turning point for me as a cyclist. Not only did they train me, but I also got an opportunity to train in Belgium for a month, and the next year, in 2019, for two months. The training style was different, it was more technology-based which monitored your heart rate and speed; it tested the ability of an athlete to perform and get an idea of what endurance is,” says Sreenath. Back home, he understood the work the sport demanded.
He later moved to Life Behind Bars Racing (LBB Racing), a Bengaluru-based bicycle and equipment store which has a racing club. Around this time, realisation struck that he had no earnings for himself despite competing for five years. “I had help from people I knew, who helped upgrade my equipment and travel expenses. But I had no income of my own and I wanted to do something on my own,” he clarifies. An opportunity presented itself in the form of an LBB franchise opportunity in Ooty.
Turning point
That was another turning point which changed the trajectory of his life. He moved to Ooty on March 1, 2020. Almost immediately after the shop opened, the country went into a pandemic-induced lockdown . “The lockdown transformed my life! Had I stayed at home, in Kerala, my life wouldn’t have changed,” he says.
Since Ooty did not have as many restrictions as other places; activities such as walking, cycling etc were allowed. “I like to talk to people, just friendly banter and that led me to my first job as a cycling coach to a seven-year-old girl.” From that one student, his students grew and he was able to develop a cycling community there. It was Sangeetha Jayaram, whom he refers to as a mentor “who is like a mother and supported me immensely”, a teacher at Lawrence School, Ooty, through whom he got his first student.
In 2020 he represented Kerala in the senior category at the Mumbai National Championship, where he finished fourth. That was the last time he appeared for Kerala. He has been representing Tamil Nadu since 2021, also the year he set up his SL7 High Altitude Training Centre. “I started training others so that it does not interfere with my training and sport. I can do my best as a coach and athlete.” He coaches students from across the country, making the sport more accessible for those who cannot afford foreign coaches.
His commitment to the sport is shaped by the time he spent with the country’s top-notch athletes in the sport such as Naveen John and experienced coaches such as Nigel Smith and his current coach, US cyclist Amber Neben. Not only does he want medals for the country at international competitions but also help other riders reach similar goals.
