With mountain biking, as part of adventure tourism, slowly gaining popularity among tourists as well as locals here, the MTB…
Representational image (Photo: Getty Images)
With mountain biking, as part of adventure tourism, slowly gaining popularity among tourists as well as locals here, the MTB (Mountain Biking) Club will be organising a mountain bike race on 25 February to give the sport an extra boost.
The race will have participants riding for 20 km in their mountain bikes from Lebong to Tiger Hill here. “There are good mountain bike riders in the Hills.
The sport is picking up not only in Darjeeling, but also in Sikkim and Kalimpong. So to promote cycling further as adventure tourism, we are organizing the first ever mountain bike race.
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In Darjeeling, there are a lot of events, which the local people do not know about.
At Sandakphu, there are international events like ‘run and track’ along with cycling, but locals do not have knowledge about this and want the youths to participate in such things,” said the MTB Club executive member, Dawa Sherpa, who also maintained that they have already received permission from the administration to hold this event.
With the registration over on Thursday, the race will have over 40 participants who are professional cyclists. The participants will not only be from Darjeeling but places like Nepal, Sikkim, Siliguri, Kalimpong, Guwahati and Assam.
Trophies and prize money will be handed over on the same day at Tiger Hill after the event with the first prize winner receiving Rs 15,000, the runner up Rs 10,000 and the third position getting Rs 5,000.
The organizers also said they have taken all precautionary measures like a backup vehicle and medical team for the day.
“This is only the beginning as we plan to hold such events later on in Mirik, Kurseong, Kalimpong and other places.
Cycling is good not only for fitness but also for the environment,” MTB vice-president Urgen Sherpa said.
It may be added here that with both tourists and locals showing keen interest in mountain bikes, there are presently about six to seven companies in Darjeeling alone that give out such cycles on rent.
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