Excelsior Sports Correspondent
LEH, Aug 13: Laxmi Magar from Nepal and Purn Bahadur Pradhan from the Indian Army emerged winners of the Manali-Khardungla Cycling Championship (MKCC) 2015, which was organized by Northern Escapes and Cycling 4 Change.
Chief guest, Nawang Rigzin Jora, MLA Leh, and guest of honour Air Commodore S Manikanthan, AOC, Leh awarded the winners in an impressive function held at Hotel Skittsal in Stok, here. Laxmi Magar has been three-time Women’s Mountain Biking National Champion of Nepal.
Talking about the high voltage cycling event, Northern Escapes founder Gaurav Schimar said, “Born out of sheer passion and love for the region and for cycling as a sport, MKCC presented riders with the opportunity to compete in the highest race in the world. MKCC is the only high-altitude long-distance cycling race in India. With MKCC, we plan to wedge India firmly onto the world endurance cycling circuit.”
A total of 63 participants competed against each other amidst challenging conditions and tough terrain and crossed 500 km distance in the high Himalayas in 9 days pedalling all the way from Manali to the world’s highest motorable pass Khardung La (18,380 ft) in Ladakh. The first runners- up in men’s category was Ramesh Ale, while Makhan Singh was the second runners-up. In the women’s category, Angela Aldrich ended up as a runner up. It was a spectacular show of courage, endurance, grit and determination. Half of the participants were from the Indian Army, Air Force and Indian Navy. The event was supported by Red Bull, Bonn Biscuits, GoPro and Fortis Hospital.
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