Kalpetta:The two-day annual mountain biking event ‘MTB Kerala 2018’ organised by the department of tourism will begin on Dec 7 at Priyadarshini Tea Estate near Mananthavady.
An initiative of Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS), MTB aims at attracting tourists and adventure lovers across the globe to scale, gauge and explore the promising prospects of cycling in the lap of nature.
The District Tourism Promotion Council Wayan-ad and Cycling Federation of India are associating with the event, a press release said here on Tuesday.
They expect participants from 10 to 12 countries in addition to 50 cyclists in national men category. The 5th edition will see the challenge for women category as well.
The success of the previous year has triggered a great deal of enthusiasm in the first of its kind event announced six years ago. Today, this mountain cycl-ing challenge has proved its stature, marked by loads of thrill and fun, it said.
The previous four editions also were held in tourism destinations of the state. The forests of Thenmala and the beautiful beach of Kovalam held riders in awe in the first edition in 2012 with more than hundred participants from seven countries.
It also placed India as the fourth Asian country to conduct an international mountain bike competition. The second international mountain cycling ch-allenge (MTB Kerala 2014) was on February 15, 2014, at Pozhuthana, Wayanad and the third on April 18, 2015, at Priyadarshini Tea Estate, Mananthavady.
Pankavu, Kottoor, Thiru-vananthapuram, hosted the fourth edition on Feb 15 and 16 in 2016.
