Tour of the Dragon was tough and challenging, this year. The widening of the East-West Highway and late monsoon made the 268-kilometre race gruelling.
Close to 30 bikers of the 47 couldn’t complete the race. Those who completed took more time than last year.
The winner, Corry Wallace from Canada, completed the race in 13 hours, two minutes and five seconds. Last year’s winner took about 12 hours to complete the race.
The bike race kicked off from Bumthang at 2 AM Saturday
Corry Wallace said it was raining and there was couple of inches deep mud making him walk with the bike at times.
“This is one of the hardest races I have done in my life. One of my buddies from Nepal completed the race in 10 hours and 42 seconds. I was expecting to do the same.”
He said the first 150-kilometre muddy track sucked all speed out of them and made it long.
Rajkumar Shrestha from Nepal came second for the third consecutive time. He was competing in the Tour of the Dragon for the fifth time, this year.
“The race this year was difficult compared to previous ones because of the bad road condition. And on top of that, competing with the international participants made it even more challenging,” said Rajkumar Shrestha.
Buddhi Bahadur Tamang, also from Nepal, came third in the race.
“It’s my first time taking part in such challenging and long race. The road made it tougher but I enjoyed and I am happy to be a part of it.”
There were only two women participants but both couldn’t complete the race.
The annual race was organised by The Bhutan Olympic Committee.
