Kathmandu, December 1

Raj Kumar Shrestha of Chisapani bagged the title of the Mustang Madness after he won the cross seventh stage of the country cycling race in Tatopani today.

Shrestha — who timed one hour, 40 minutes and 10 seconds to finish the final stage from Marpha to Tatopani — won the overall championship with the timing of 14 hours, 54 minutes and 57 seconds. He got Rs 125,000. Shrestha, who was more than one and half hour ahead of the opponents, said he worked really in early stages to build the commanding lead. “With the healthy lead in early stages, I could enjoy the ride and views in final stages,” said Shrestha, who won all seven stages of the race.

Buddhi Bahadur Tamang was a distant second with the time of 16:33:40, while Man Bahadur Thapa Magar of Tribhuvan Army Club was third in 17:22:52. Tamang and Thapa Magar earned Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively. Tamang said: “Mustang is one of the nicest places for cycling and Mustang Madness trails were the best in my career. I am quite happy with my performance but I would like to win the race when I come next year.”

Isabel Boyd from the United Kingdon, the fastest among the foreigners with an overall timing of 24:06:30, said: “When I signed up for this event, I knew it would be a wonderful experience. But I never expected it to have such a big impact on me. Mustang is truly magical and I thank the event organisers for making it happen.”

Thanking the locals of Mustang, participants, supports and well wishers, event coordinator Shikhar Pandey said the event was a grand success. “We surpassed the expectations and hope to grow in coming years.” The event was organised by Adventure Sports Nepal in association with Nepal Tourism Board, Himalaya Expeditions and Gnarly Biking. A total of 12 participants took part in the event and nine cyclists completed all seven stages.