Registrations for amateurs competing in the 6th edition of MTB (Mountain Bike) Kerala will close on December 10.
Organised by the Department of Tourism, the December 20-22 mega mountain biking event in Mananthavady will showcase the dexterity of biking professionals and amateurs from India and abroad, a news release said here on Monday.
The races, being held under the aegis of Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society, District Tourism Promotion Council (Wayanad) and Cycling Federation of India, will see the participants negotiating a challenging 5-km stretch along Priyadarshini Tea Environs at an altitude of 3,000 feet in the Western Ghats.
For amateurs’ event, titled ‘Fun and Thrill Challenge’, the registration closes at 5 p.m. on December 10. The registration can be done online at MTB Kerala website, www.mtbkerala.com. Registration for professional international and national participants is over.
This year’s race will be held in three categories: International Cross Country, National Cross Country – Men, and National Cross Country – Women. The event for amateurs has been included in MTB Kerala for the first time.
Fun and Thrill Challenge will have separate category for men and women. Participants who reach in first 25 positions in the qualifying round of a 38-km road cycling competition on December 20 will be selected for the MTB Amateur Championship on December 21. There is no qualification round for women category. The total entry for men in this segment is 100 and 25 for women on first-come-first-serve basis.
The first three positions in the amateurs’ challenge round will qualify for the MTB National Category Championship, to be held on December 22. Participants will have to bring their own MTB cycles and safety equipment.
The race is open to both individual riders and teams. As for the prize money, the winner in International Cross Country race will get ₹1,50,000 while the first, second, third and fourth runner up will secure ₹1,00,000, ₹50,000, ₹25,000 and ₹20,000, respectively.
The winner in National Cross Country – Men race will be awarded prize money of ₹1,00,000 while the first three runners up will be given ₹ 50,000, ₹25,000 and ₹20,000, respectively. As for the National Cross Country – Women event, the winner will get ₹50,000 and the first three runners up will be getting ₹25,000, ₹20,000 and ₹15,000, respectively.
