Professional cyclists notice funny details. Like, afternoon heat spikes of the ostensible January winter and how the “good” grey asphalt feels under the wheels. But what they will most feel in the sinews of every straining muscle at India’s biggest international road cycling event, the Pune Grand Tour, is how a road stretch from Kondhanpur to Khadakwasla lake brutally ascends, testing their lung capacity on an up-climb. As the pro cycling caravan heads into race days in the city, all the buzz among riders is about Day 2 when Pune will exert their gasping breath. “After riding hard through the day, there’s a climb just 15 kms from the end of the second stage, that has a 10 percent steep upward incline which is whoa,” says the Netherlands team director Maint Berkenbosch, with a mock wince and whistle, indicating a wickedly curated gradient challenge for all international riders. In true Marathi style, the winner of that day will unofficially get crowned “Ghaatancha Raja” (King of Climbs). Frenchman Pierre Chartier, on a specialised S18 bike, poetically …