MTB Himalaya 2015 takes the challenge to the next level

Hero MTB Himalaya - Asia's oldest MTB stage race has moved into its 11th year. Over the past decade the race has grown immensely and has a following from all across the world. Each year the challenge gets tougher and the riders get a better and different route than before to ride and conquer. The route of the 11th edition is a class apart from the previous editions. This season HASTPA with the support of Hero cycles has energized the event with fresh ideas brought about with an experience of 10 years pedaling through the most gruesome terrains of the Himalayas.

The race is scheduled for 8 days from the 27th of September 2015 - 04th October 2015 and has 7 stages and with a total elevation gain that exceeds 15000m (49200ft), the highest in any race all across the globe. The terrain is a mixture of , jeep tracks, gravel, mud, sand, streams, singletracks, pine forests.

The race will be flagged off from the historic town of Shimla riding through gut wrenching uphills, ,village back roads, beautiful meadows, covering a stretch of 90 kms in the day and finally coming to a halt at Gadakuffar. Day 2 will be a shorter ride from Gadakuffar to Khegou with a total elevation gain of 2700m. The ride from Khegou to Kullu Sarahan will be the longest stage of the race with a distance of 114 kms.

On Day 4 the riders will be facing the toughest challenge - 'Jalori Pass' ,the highest point of the race at a height of 3150 m above sea level , further moving back to Khegou.

Day 1 : Shimla to Gadakuffar

Day 2 : Gadakuffar to Khegou

Day 3 : Khegou to Kullu Sarahan

Day 4 : REST DAY

Day 5 : Kullu Sarahan to Shwad

Day 6 : Shwad- Jalori - Khegou

Day 7 : Khegou to Gadakuffar

Day 8 : Gadakuffar to Shimla

The race will go through uncharted interiors, deep forests, giving the blissful experience of nature all around. It is going to be an advanced route , improved cycling conditions and structured management over 7 days of riding across beautiful meadows, thick vegetation, jeep tracks covering over 500 kms in the lap of the Himalayas. The distance combined with the total elevation gain makes Hero MTB Himalaya amongst the toughest and challenging races in the world.

Speaking on the the second edition of HERO-MTB Himalaya, Mr Gaurav Matta, Marketing Manager, Hero Cycles said, "Our endeavour with this edition is to raise the bar for all such cycling events across the world. Looking at the enormous response that we got from the last edition, which also happened to be the the first year for Hero's association with this event,this year the organising team at HERO Cycles and HASTPA have put extra emphasis on making the competition and the route more challenging yet engaging for all participants across age groups. The attention to detail that has gone into this edition will certainly help us to position this event as an international marquee event for leading cyclists around the world. Through this event, we also aim to introduce global standards of off-road, adventure cycling to the growing tribe of cycling enthusiasts in India."

"We at HASTPA are to see that our efforts of bringing India and Himachal to the forefront of mountain biking internationally are finally taking form. We wish all the riders the very best for the race and assure them that they are going to enjoy riding every single minute of the race. The route is advanced , has better cycling conditions and will be one of the toughest trails to conquer" says Mohit Sood, President – HASTPA.