Trilok Kumar Provelo, this is not the first time this name has popped up on my blog. Some of you who have been with me from the start must have heard about him. I wrote an article earlier about him when he cycled continuously for 24 hours. This time he almost slew MTB Himalaya 2019.
There has been a recent surge in the number of MTB riders in India. Now, Trilok Provelo is a well-known name in road cycling. Most noteworthy is that he is also a founding member of Jaipur’s now biggest athletic community who loves clicking their pictures when working out.
Himalayan mountain biking is the toughest bike race in the country. The fact that in the year 2011 104 MTB riders started the race but only 42 could finish makes me believe this.
Take a moment and look at our cycloshot tribe group in Jaipur. In case you want to join us please do, connect with any of the admins mentioned on cycloshot tribe page. Better yet connect with me. Wink wink!
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What is MTB Himalaya?
MTB Himalaya is an annual mountain biking race organised by HASTPA. HASTPA is Himalayan Adventure sports & tourism promotion Association. jointly by Hero Cycles and Himachal Tourism. This race was started way back in the year 2005 and is being held every year since then. Officially this race is for 8 days, which consist of 6 race days, one day rest and one flag off day and a small ride. Let’s take a look at the stages one by one in which Trilok Provelo participated and became the first rider from Rajasthan to finish it.
Stage-1 Balkhus Epiphany Day-1
With difficulty level moderate this Himalayan mountain biking stage 1 needs MTB riders to cover a distance of 64.5 km. Elevation gain is moderate, consider it a warm-up ride for MTB riders. The race starts from Dak Bagla and ends at Gada Kuffer. Elevation jumps to 2480 meters and minimum goes till 1650 meter. This stage has two pitstops or feed stations.
Stage-2 Sutlej Symphony Day-2
The second stage is a bit more on the tougher side. This day is scheduled from Gadakufar and ends at Kungash. Maximum altitude being 2502 meters and the lowest being 876 meters. The second day will test your skills. The distance covered is 87.1 km. Himalayan mountain biking is tough and this race makes you believe it. This stage has three pitstops.
Stage-3 Daruk Vana Day-3
This is again one of the toughest section of the race. Furthermore, with over 2810 meters elevation and minimum elevation being 1505 meter, you need to cover a distance of 72.5 km. The flag off is from Kungash and ends at Gada Gushani. This stage has three pitstops. This stage is also called as the queen’s stage.
Day-4 is the rest day.
Stage-4 Divine Lap Day-5
The stage-4 of MTB Himalaya gives you a little relief. Difficulty levels of this stage are less than the last two stages. The maximum elevation is around 3000 meters and the minimum is 969 meters. The flag off is from Gada Gushani and ends at Pandoh, covering a distance of 72.2 km. This stage has three pitstops.
Stage-5 Stairway to Heaven Day-6
Similar to stage-1 the difficulty level is a bit less. This race starts from Pandoh and ends at Barot. Distance covered is 89.2 km. The highest elevation being 2078 meters and the lowest being 840 meters. This stage again has 3 pit stops.
Stage-6 Into the wild Day-7
This is the last day of the race and most noteworthy the last stage. The flag off is from Barot and the race ends at Bir. The distance covered is around 58.2 km with a max elevation of 2700 meter and a minimum of 1370 meter. This stage again has three pitstops.
Unfortunately, while writing this article I found my self on the MTB Himalayan website. The website has a little old and outdated information as far as the stages are concerned. The latest MTB Himalaya only had 6 stages as compared to a website which shows 8 stages.
Nevertheless, Trilok Kumar Provelo has once again proved to an outstanding contender for this event. He became the first cyclist from Rajasthan to finish this tiresome and brutal race. Along with Trilok Kumar Provelo, MTB Himalaya became 3rd MTB event in the world to complete 15 editions. I wish them all the best and hats off to HASPTA, Himanchal tourism and Hero cycles for keeping this intact and making it happen every year. Check out a few more pictures by Trilok below.
