A 20-year-old Pelden Wangchuk, a class 12 graduate won the Ninth edition of the annual DANTAK open mountain bike race in the men’s category yesterday. In the women’s category, Chimi Dema, a student of Royal Thimphu College (RTC) bagged the first prize.
110 bikers took part in the 100-kilometre race, which starts from Thimphu to Paro and back to Thimphu.
Pelden Wangchuk could not complete the race last year, due to cramps. He completed the race in three hours one minute.
“The competition was stiff but I am happy with the results. I trained using the same track from Thimphu to Paro. I trained around three times a week. In the last few kilometres, I struggled with a probable cramp. I would like to Thank His Majesty the King for the mountain bike as a gift to me”
And Chimi Dema’s win this time is her second win. The last was in 2016.
“I am a cyclist and a runner. I feel very happy and proud to win the race. As I am a student at RTC, It is very hard for me to balance academic and sports career. Still, then I took my time and trained for this race. And at the end, it paid off and it was successful.”
In the veteran category, Nim Gyeltshen came first. The prime minister and the foreign minister were also part of the race.
The winners were awarded mountain bikes gifted by His Majesty The King. They were also awarded a cash prize of Nu 40,000 each.
The DANTAK open mountain bike race was instituted in 2011 to celebrate friendship and promote the love for biking.
