Fly up the muddy hills

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The terrains of mountainous Puthuppady in Kozhikode will host mountain bikers from across the State for two days this summer.

The State Mountain Biking Championship there will see about 450 players from the 14 districts taking part in the two-day event on April 28 and 29.

Winners can represent the State in the national tournament in May. Kerala, which dominates the national cycling events, has contributed a number of players to the international arena, and the championship will be another event for the state to spot its talents in mountain biking.

“The preparations are going on and we expect about 500 people to attend the programme. It would be a major event in cycling. Actually, the championship was scheduled to take place a month ago, but it was postponed due to the examinations,” says C.M. Abdurahiman, Kozhikode Mountain Biking Association secretary.

The tournament will be held in Under-13, U-15, U-17, U-19 and above 19 years categories in both men and women groups.

It would be a 14-km race for the senior category, and each of the categories has its respective race distance.

Thiruvananthapuram are the current defending champions. “The cyclists from The Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education in Thiruvananthapuram are usually the best. However, Idukki, Kottayam and Kozhikode too have good cyclists. Several bikers who have won national events titles will be taking part in the event,” he said.

Kerala holds an envious position in cycling events, especially in the road and track events. “In mountain biking too, Kerala has one of the best teams. With the completion of the state championship, we will be having a good state team this time also,” says Abdurahiman.

Last year, the event was held at Thiruvananthapuram in which hosts clinched the title, he said.