Steadfast Athlete and national mountain biking (MTB) champion Pranita Soman’s determination gives her the belief that she can win the gold for her country. She swept the MTB National Championship in 2021, scooping the gold in three categories- individual time trial (women’s elite), elite women’s cross country event, and mixed team Relay. Pranita has also represented India in international races, including the Asian MTB Championships in Thailand in 2020 and the mountain biking XCO at the 13th South Asian Games 2019, where she won the bronze. She has 19 national medals to her credit- eight golds, six silvers, and five bronzes.
Pranita says winning the national races has enabled her to promote the sport among female riders. She takes pride in being able to do so. Pranita is all praise for the government for promoting cycling as a professional sport.
“The fact that I can participate in the national races makes me super proud of myself as I am able represent my state and push this sport for the female riders. Not many riders are female. I feel motivated to promote cycling amongst my fellow friends. The national races have given me an immense amount of exposure. I have explored capabilities I was myself unaware of,” says Pranita.
Pranita was inclined towards cycling right from her school days. She began her sporting journey in class 10, participating in state chess, netball, and cycling championships. Her teacher motivated her to take up cycling.
Pranita’s first race in school was a school state road race championship. She started cycling with a local club at 15 and upscaled her stamina and endurance. She took part in an inter-school cycling competition and bagged first position in the Under-16 MTB (female) category. The win was a turning point in Pranita’s life- it boosted her confidence in her riding capabilities and technical skills. Soon after, she trained with the national team in Maharashtra, which gave her exposure and experience and made her better day by day. She trained with road biking as her primary discipline but soon switched to MTB riding after her first trail experience. She did weekend endurance rides to the ghats near her home to increase her climbing capability and her body’s survival rate.
Pranita subsequently competed in several MTB championships. She participated in her first national championship in 2017, representing Maharashtra at the MTB National Championships in Pune.
The road to winning the MTB Nationals was not easy. Pranita finished fourth at the road cycling nationals in March. She was determined to bridge the gap, increasing the intensity of her workouts and including more road cycling to improve her stamina. Pranita worked on her biggest weakness- cadence and combined it with strength training. She won the championship, becoming the first cyclist to win the gold in road and mountain biking. The 21-year-old had also bagged the best cyclist award in the 2020 MTB edition.
Pranita has been a Steadfast Athlete since 2020. She says Steadfast has been a pillar of support for her.
“Steadfast has been a pillar of support for me. I have always searched for good quality supplements. Steadfast was a one-stop shop for all my needs. I’m super glad to be a Steadfast Athlete,” says Pranita.
Pranita’s favourite supplement by Steadfast is the energy drink Carborance.
“Nutrition plays as important a role as training for any athlete. Without sufficient and best-quality nutrients, your training can become meaningless. Steadfast Nutrition is my nutrition partner in my training. It provides a wide variety of products with various essential ingredients. My favourite is Carborance. Cycling is an endurance sport. One always needs a source of carbohydrates to enhance endurance. While doing any exhaustive activity like gym workouts or endurance miles, one needs a good and constant energy source. Carborance is the best supplement for coping with these activities,” says Pranita. Check Steadfast's best energy drink.
