Magar, Powelson win Asian Enduro Series titles

Bhaktapur, April 9

Nepal’s Rajesh Magar and Jocelyn Ann Powelson of USA won the titles of the elite category under the second Asian Enduro Series MTB Race in Nagarkot today.

In the men’s category, Magar clocked 27 minutes and 10.3 seconds to complete seven stages of the competition.

The race started from the Nagarkot view tower point and the riders completed four stages, all downhill, on Saturday — first  stage (1.65km), second (925m), third (1.33km) and fourth (2.4km).

Similarly, they completed three uphill stages — fifth stage (1km), sixth (2.7km) and final (2.05km) today. Magar won the race leaving behind fellow Nepali riders Rajan Bhandari (29:54) and Prabin Rai (30:06.3).

Similarly, Powelson of USA took 36 minutes and 6.3 seconds to win the women’s category title. Nepal’s Nishma Shrestha (39:51.3) was a distant second.

Pelden Dorji of Bhutan claimed men’s below-40 category race with the timing of 34 minutes and 12.6 seconds, while Australian cyclists Bo Percival (35:37.4) and Daniel Birch (35:56.2) were second and third.

In the men’s above-40, UK’s Neil Avery (32:48.7), Malaysia’s Weehow Wu (33:58) and USA’s Ben Craft (36:6.9) bagged top three positions.

Nepali riders Prachit Thapa Magar (30:39.2), Nirav Shrestha (31:56.1) and Deepak Jimee (33:1.5) claimed top three positions in the U-17 category.

A total of 80 participants from 17 countries took part in the four-day competition which was organised by Mountain biking company, Gnarly.