6 th MTB Shimla takes off

Shimla: The 6th edition of Hero MTB Shimla was flagged off from Hotel Woodville Palace, Shimla on Saturday,organisers said.

Route for Stage 1 of the race featured a perfect blend of trails, gravel, streams. The riders climbed 1733 m and descended 2231 m in a span of 64km. The day started with a 7.40 km descent towards Bulia where the competitive section of the race was flagged off at 9.35 AM.

Rakesh riding from Nainital emerged to be the fastest rider to climb Junedghat among all the riders. 40km into the 64km strech of the race, Rakesh was riding strong and leading the overalls.

At the end of 2nd climb, David took the lead from Rakesh and emerged as the winner of Stage 1 of the race. David is from Shimla and riding in the open men solo category. 

Rohit Thakur stood second in overall category. He hails from a small town in Manali and this was his first race in Hero MTB Shimla.

The race has been known to be dominated by the Shimla boys. Local boy Akshit Gaur who rides for Hero Action Team won the students category.

Sarah Appelt won the open women solo category. She also rides for the Hero Action team and is currently representing Manali.

Himachal Pradesh and Hero Action Team are clearly dominating the leaderboard. It seems that Shimla will win the City Championship award yet again,organisers said.