PIONEER NEWS SERVICE / Dehradun
The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) will revive the Ultimate Uttarakhand MTB Challenge from October 14 to 20, with the seven-day cycling expedition set to cover around 700 km across the state as part of efforts to promote adventure and winter tourism. The event would bring together more than 60 international elite and UCI-licensed professional cyclists from across the world, UTDB officers said. The tentative route will begin in Mukteshwar in Nainital district and pass through Bageshwar, Karnaprayag, Guptkashi and Tehri before concluding in the Mussoorie hills of Dehradun district.
A high-level meeting on preparations for the event was held here on Wednesday under the chairmanship of the Tourism secretary Dhiraj Singh Garbyal. The officials from the Cycling Federation of India (CFI), Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) and UTDB attended the meeting.
Garbyal directed the CFI, UTDB, KMVN, GMVN and technical experts to constitute a joint team and complete a recce of the entire route within a week. The team will assess the proposed route, particularly the off-road sections, for safety, accessibility and logistical requirements ahead of the event.
He said that the event would help position Uttarakhand as a prominent destination on the global adventure tourism map. “It will showcase the state’s mountain terrain, natural beauty, culture and local communities, while also creating employment opportunities in rural and border areas,” he said, adding that the MTB Challenge would become a permanent feature of Uttarakhand’s annual tourism calendar.
He further said that the final route and other logistical arrangements would be decided after the recce and technical assessment.
