Ajaya wins

KATHMANDU: National champion Ajaya Pandit won the first stage of the fourth Yak Attack Mountain Bike Championship on Tuesday.

Ajaya timed 2 hours 10 minutes 40 seconds to complete the stage 1 — Budhanilkantha to Nuwakot — which covered the distance of 45kms with an ascent of 983m and

1383m of descent. Australian veteran and paragliding instructor Phil Hystek fell 40 seconds short of the leader.

The stage winner also pocketed £100. Mangal Krishna Lama finished third in 2:26:24 while Chandra Chhetri timed 2:33:34 to finish fourth. Kaji Sherpa (2:40:15), Britain's Paul Errington (2:56:09), Swedish duo Andreas Danielsson (3:16:24) and Martin Stenmarck (3:16:25), British riders John Williams (4:00:36) and Andy Foers (4:07:12) rounded up the top 10 finishes.