Mustang Madness kicks off

The first edition of Mustang Madness, a cross country mountain bike stage race has been organised in upper and lower Mustang, starting from November 24by Sports Nepal in association with Nepal Tourism Board with support from Himalayan Expeditions and Gnarly Biking. The event is held in seven stages covering a total distance of 220km. The first stage of the event started from Kagbeni (2800m) and ended at Muktinath (3850m) where Raj Kumar Shrestha took the lead with a timing of 57 minutes and 50 seconds, followed by Buddhi Bahudur Tamang at 1hour 2 minutes and 44seconds. A total of 12 participants including five foreigners from the UK and Germany took part in the event. "Dedicated to promote and develop the potential of MTB trails and adventure tourism in Nepal, the event is designed to allow participants ride their MTBs in exotic Himalayan desert landscapes, says Shikhar Pandey, the organiser of the event. According to him, the aim of the event is to develop international standard events by using and developing local manpower and skills. This is the first event of its kind event in Nepal.