MTB Kerala: Mananthavady Gears up to Host India’s Biggest Cycle Race

MANANTHAVADY (WAYANAD):
Over 100 cyclists from 14 countries including India will vie for honours here on Sunday at the 6th edition of MTB (Mountain Bike) Kerala, billed as the country’s first such competitive event listed under UCI, the world body governing the sport.

While cyclists from Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Uzbekistan besides the host country will grace the international segment, MTB’s national category will have 60 men and 20 women vying in separate categories.

Pedalling with vigour even while negotiating tricky stretches with caution, 30 cyclists rode down and up a distance of 20 km along the rugged pathways of the Western Ghats today, marking the prelude to the 6th edition of MTB (Mountain Bike) Kerala.

At the scenic Priyadarshini Tea Environs, Kerala Minister Ramachandran Kadannappally will flag off the event, being organised by the state government’s Department of Tourism under the aegis of the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society, District Tourism Promotion Council and the Cycling Federation of India. Mananthavady MLA O R Kelu will deliver a presidential address, while Wayanad District Sub-Collector Vikalp Bharadwaj and Kerala Tourism Deputy Director K Radhakrishnan will speak.

Later, legislator Kelu will inaugurate the closing ceremony, where actor Tovino Thomas will be the chief guest. Manathavady Municipality Chairman V R Pravij will preside over the function in which Kerala Tourism Director P Bala Kiran will deliver the keynote address. Among other speakers are Wayanad District Collector Adeela Abdulla, Asian Cycling Federation Secretary-General Onkar Singh and his Cycling Federation of India counterpart Maninder Pal Singh besides top bureaucrats and members of civic bodies.

On Saturday, MTB conducted the ‘Fun and Thrill’ races for amateur men and women. The winners in both the categories qualify for Sunday’s national races on a circular pathway spanning 4.8 km around the tea estate. The red-earth track, punctuated with boulders and mud, is 3,000 feet above the sea level.

The top winner of the international segment will get a purse of Rs 1.5 lakh, while those finishing second, third, fourth and fifth get Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 20,000, respectively.

The winner of the national-level cross-country race (men) will secure Rs 1 lakh, followed by Rs 50,000, Rs 25,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 15,000 for the first, second and third runner up. The women’s section winner gets Rs 50,000, while those finishing second, third and fourth will secure Rs 25,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 15,000, respectively.