PANJIM: The riders from Nepal, Buddhi Bahadur Tamang and Laxmi Magar bagged top honours in the Men’s and Women’s categories at the first edition of the Goa International Mountain Bike Challenge (GIMBC) which concluded at Dona Paula, on Sunday.
The three-day event saw cyclist battle it out for the top spots through rugged off road terrains in the hinterlands of the State.
GIMBC is India’s first multi-stage cross country race. The three stage intensive cycling event organised by Cycling Goa saw registration of over 50 endurance cyclists from across the country as well as participants from Australia, and Portugal.
The riders from Nepal, Tamang and Laxmi who happened to be podium finishers at the Himalyan MTB, recently.
The Women’s Open Category had Aurosylle Bystrom hailing from Auroville in second place and Sowmyaurs on the third spot.
The Men’s Open Category saw Auro Sukrit in second and Tejasvi in the third position.
The masters category (above 45), however was ruled by the boys from Goa with Rainer Dias taking the first place, Raghav Gowda coming a close second and Jose D’Silva in the third spot.
GIMBC was a cross country format conducted on three different routes on three consecutive days. The race was lap based with the courses and trails spread across rough forest paths, single track/double track, smooth fire roads and even paved paths connecting other trails. The first and second stage of the race was held in Collem and Ugeum while the final stage was held at Dona Paula.
The Department of Goa Tourism and Sports Authority of Goa partnered with Cycling Goa for the event.
Cycling Goa is a registered association of cycling enthusiasts in Goa. The cycling group aims to get people to take up cycling as a sport, recreation, exercise or means of transport. These enthusiasts come from different professional backgrounds and are unified by the passion of cycling.
