Bright sunshine after back-to-back gloomy days greeted riders at Dhomri camp on Wednesday as they prepared to take the challenge of reaching Hatu Peak during the 9th MTB Himalaya 2013.

The 60 odd riders had to take metal road initially followed by broken tarmac stretch on way to Baghi. Overnight rainfall in certain parts made the road slushy even before they reached the offroad stage after around 10km from base camp. Taking a loop around the hills, the pack reached Tikker village after some downhill ride on slippery surface.

The day belonged to Himachal Pradesh teenager Devender Thakur as he gave tough competition to Portugal’s World No. 9, Luis Leao Pinto, who is already leading the race in Open Men’s Solo category. In some stretches, Devender was seen just 10 minutes behind Pinto – a marked improvement for the 19-year-old from his first day ride in the 9th MTB Himalaya 2013. Another youngster, Kiran K Raju, the champion of Bangalore, was also gliding along the forestry road.

After a short break near Tikker, the riders started their onward journey to Hatu, a steep climb of 700 metres in such a high altitude. The riders had to brave rain, hail and thunderstorms to reach the highest point of the race event. The team of army riders had made uphill an easy task with their prowess and skill. Wednesday’s route offered a stiff challenge to the amateurs and professionals alike although in some stages people pedalled hard to overcome difficulty on the surface and severity of the weather.

The riders were offered to carry on their challenge or come back to the base camp after completing the compulsory stages. Several amateurs came back to the camp after feeling exhausted while professionals thought it better brave nature’s fury and reach the epitome of Hatu Peak. On the penultimate day, the riders had it all – unforgiving weather, tough terrain, single tracks, steep uphill and loose tracks for downhill. Those who reached Hatu Peak had a sense of fullfilment and achievement and an experience of their lifetime.

Results for first 4 days (cumulative)

Open Men’s Solo

Luis Lea Pinto – 12:36:35 (Portugal)Purna Bhahadur Pradhan 15:32:15 (Team Army)Surendra Singh 15:52:09 (Team Army)

Open Women’s Solo

Laxmi Magar 23:10 (Nepal)Sowmya urs A M 31:08 (Indian)Vamini Sethi 34:21 (Indian)

Masters Solo

Van Belle Jean Louis 19:05:40 (Belgium)Micheal Mcclean 20:37:01 (UK national living in India)Luis Canto Muniz 21:34:43 (Portugese living in India)

Team of two

Team-1 (Team Army)

Naresh Burman 16:01:55Sishir Man Singh Karki 16:03:16

Team 2 (Team Army)

K Venkateswarlu Reddy 16:09:32Devappa CJ 16:09:53

Team 3 (Team Army)

Kulwinder Ojala 17:25:51Manjeet Singh 17:25:55

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