An A to B course that can be described as Intermediate to challenging in difficulty with a progressive drop in altitude of 515 meters over 1.51 kilometers to Sankhu after a short uphill at the start of the race. From a starting altitude of approximately 1950 meters, the road descends before a fantastic Himalayan backdrop and typical Nepali countryside that will make every bit of the event memorable. The road is nearly all jeep tracks with some rough and monsoon-ripped sections that will require cautious riding. A grand welcome will wait all in the ancient town of Sankhu.

The Race
For most, Nagarkot would be the village on most agendas when considering a mountain biking destination and for that matter almost any sort of outing. Pine forests, a quaint rural atmosphere perched at 2000 meters with 360-degree views that offer some of the best from anywhere in Kathmandu Valley. From here there is no way to go but down.

At the tail-end of Nepal's festival season and the joy of Deepawali still fresh it was Nagarkot that everyone had come to to claim victory in the downhill event to Sankhu. Sankhu, the medieval village at the base of the Narayan Ban alongside the Sali Nadi,which is rich in religion and cultural groups, and also is home to the Vajra Yogini temple.

What was to be offered by the villagers of Sankhu, to all, by way of post-race entertainment and course support by the many villagers could not have been imagined from the starting line at 11am as they lined up in Nagarkot, inside the Club Himalayan Resort. The 1st-placed mountain biker, in as short a time as 26 minutes, was the first to receive a hero's welcome by thousands at the finish line.

Following Race 1 to Kakani, the leader's board was adequately open to still allow those in the top-10 of each category a chance to claim the top prizes and a trip to Europe. The race rewards enough to push the field beyond the boundaries of comfort and, in some cases, experience.

To beat your opponent meant risk and today offered a new test of skills, an 11.5-kilometer descent and over 500-meter drop in altitude over a terrain consisting of smooth dirt jeep track with rapid switchbacks turning stony plus monsoon-ripped trails tilted high above the Ghatte Khola. Misjudged maneuvers by a few riders resulted in freefalls that left some minor abrasions and, luckily, nothing more. Last week's winner in the Open Category, Chandra Chettri, ended up 10 feet below the roadway in the trees after misjudging a corner five kilometers from the finish line, thus opening the gates for a new winner today.

Overlooking the tranquility of Bageshewari Forest from the start didn't seem to calm those in the front of the race gate this morning as it was a tight jockeying for the inside spot. Just after the start was a right-hand turn to a narrow, decorated village gateway leading to an immediate downhill into the village center, a center choked with spectators screaming at the spectacle of Nepal and Europe's top riders who appeared to be nearly on top of each other.

And the next 200-meter straight downhill was jammed with Nepalese school children, resort employees and residents, with both riders and villagers amazed at this first-time spectacle. The road looked upwards over a short twisting incline that rapidly divided the group amongst the pine forest that emerged 400 meters later on the slick dirt trail that marked the start of the downhill to Sankhu. By this point, already a few had suffered mechanical troubles on the climb that separated the field. If the gods of the valley were not watching this morning, those of the mighty Langtang Himal were smiling over everyone, and as far away as Everest in the distance. It was the ever-white peaks that the riders were greeted by at the top of the first climb and which stayed with them until the village of Kattike Bhangjyang, the one-third marker in the course.

Excellent conditions blessed the day as it was overcast yet warm, taking the morning chill off the air with blue skies forming a perfect backdrop to the Himalayas. Packs of riders were caught behind those taking a more cautious descent, the narrow corners not allowing anything short of a well-timed and daring move to get past and leave those behind to make the same choice. The German riders in Weichert & Mueller however had an unclutched descent with no one in front of them and only the finish line and each other to contend with as only a few seconds separated them.

Reaching the village of Kattike and one-third of the course complete, the Germans and one Nepali rider had forged a solid mark on the finishing positions, and as the riders dropped inside the southern wall of the Narayan Ban under the shadow of Kattikey Danda (1861m), the riders had already descended just over 200 meters in altitude and approached the treacherous rocky trails ahead in Bisambhar village.

From here it was a relative high-speed chase over the remaining six kilometers to the finish line. By Phulbari, over 90 percent of the vertical drop was behind them and the undulating trail billowed dust as the knobby tires ripped along the surface at up to 60 km/hr. Sharply down and a gear-wrenching hammering on the pedals over the Sali Nadi river and around the Vishnu Temple had riders on the final stretch.

There was an amzing one-kilometer long shoulder-to-shoulder gallery of Nepalese locals and school children cheering at the first sight of the leaders. This was the last chance to pass and gain an extra place. Weichert kept a slim advantage on Mueller to charge up the last 20 meters to the red tape, crossing first by a mere two seconds.

Suresh Dulal, the top-placed Nepalese rider, had been valiant in chasing down the European champions and was separated from 2nd place by just 47 seconds to take third in an awe-inspiring show of strength.

As the distance narrowed to the finishing gate, the crowd deepened and people hung from every window to gain whatever advantage possible in order to see the finish line spectacle. Dusty and sweaty, the heroes of the day were the 104 mountain bikers that completed the course to the cheers of many thousands from the Sankhu region that had surely added a historic chapter in adventure sports tourism in Nepal.

— Courtesy, Himalayan Mountain Bikes Ltd.