KATHMANDU, Nov 25: Nepali cyclists on Thursday secured top five positions with the completion of the first stage of The Mustang Madness, a cross-country mountain bike stage race, being held in upper and lower Mustang. 

Raj Kumar Shrestha took the lead in the first stage completing the distance of 13 km in 57 minutes 50 seconds. Buddhi Bahadur Tamang (1 hour 2 minutes 44 seconds) and Man Bahadur Thapa Magar (1 hour 2 minutes 46 seconds) finished second and third in the event that started from Kagbeni (2800m) and ended at Muktinath (3850m) on the opening day.

The event to be held in seven stages covers a total distance of 220 km. The other stages of the race will go through  Chele (2900m), Ghami (3600m), Lo-Manthang (3800m), Tange (3300m) , Marpha (2700m) and ends at Tatopani (1250m) on December 1. 

The event sees participation of 12 cyclist, including two women, from Britain, Germany and Nepal. The top three finishers will bag purse of Rs 125,000,  Rs 75,000 and Rs, 50,000  respectively. The event is organized by Adventure Sports Nepal in association with Nepal Tourism Board.

 
• nepali cyclists
 
• state one
 
• top five positions