Ace Portuguese rider Luis Leao Pinto wins MTB Himalaya 2015

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 4

Ace Portuguese rider Luis Leao Pinto, who remained in lead right from day one till the end, won the 11th Hero MTB Himalayan Edition 2015 while Andi Seewald of Germany and Pau Zamora of Spain bagged the second and third positions, respectively.

Luis Leao Pinto won the overall leader – King of the Himalayas in the overall and the open men solo category while Catherine Williamson (UK) emerged the overall winner in the open women solo category followed by Ilda Periera (Portugal) and Laxmi Magar from Nepal. Reimund Dietzen, the veteran pro-rider, was declared winner in the master’s solo category.

Lawyer turned rider, 34-year old Luis Leao Pinto has won the title for the second time and had won the MTB race in 2013. Luis, who practices about five hours a day, said it was the scenic beauty of Himachal and its friendly people which brings him back to the race. This race is very significant as it infuses confidence and prepares me for other races that are in the pipeline, he added.

The cyclists covered a distance of 600 km distance in seven riding days with a total elevation gain of 12,000m (39,370 feet) with highest altitude being 3,250 m (10,662 feet). The terrain was tough and challenging and riders had to paddle past single track, motorable jeep track, rocky tracks, loose gravel, sand, mud and broken tarmac.

Considered to be a very challenging, the race started out with 88 riders, including seven women, out of which only 54 completed the race. The toughness of the race can be gauged from the fact that even the seasoned riders were not comfortable due to altitude of the race tracks and steep uphill and downhill riding.