The Hero MTB Himalaya is an annual

mountain bike race Mountain bike racing (shortened MTB or ATB racing) is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned ...

held in the mountainous state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Started in 2005, the race covers nearly 16500 metres of climbing at an average altitude of 2200 meters in a span of 8 days and is one of the toughest MTB stage races in the world . The race is sponsored by

Hero Cycles Hero Cycles Limited, based in Ludhiana, Punjab, is an Indian company that manufactures bicycles and bicycle related products. Pankaj M Munjal is the chairman and managing director of Hero Cycles. History Hero Cycles was established in 1956 ...

and Himachal tourism .

Venues

Started in 2005, the first 5 races took the route from

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...

To Manali.Bike Forums
/ref> In 2010, the route was changed and a loop was taken where the race began and finished from

. It passes through

Kullu Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Va ...

and

Mandi Mandi may refer to: Places * Mandı, Azerbaijan India * Mandi, Jammu and Kashmir, a town on the Mandi River in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir * Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, a city in Himachal Pradesh ** Mandi State, former princely sta ...

districts.2010 Route
/ref> In 2016, the route was once again changed from Shimla to

Dharamshala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

and since then the race has been also called as ride to Land of Lamas.

Categories of Competition

The race has had the following categories for cyclistsRider categories
/ref> *Men Solo *Women Solo *Masters Solo (age 40 and above) *Teams of Two *Grandmasters Solo

Participation

The Hero MTB Himalaya has seen about 1500 riders take part in the 14 years of existence. They have seen participants come from US,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

and

.Participation
/ref> In 2011, 104 riders started, and only 42 finished.

References

{{Cycling in India Sport in Himachal Pradesh Cycle races in India Cycle racing in India Mountain biking events Adventure tourism in India

Venues

Categories of Competition

Sponsors

Participation

References