In order to promote the tourism activities and cycling culture in the State and to showcase the beautiful terrain of Himachal Pradesh to the world, the 1st Mountain Biking event is being organized from Shimla to Janjehli from 23rd June to 26th June 2022 by HASTPA in association with Himachal Tourism. Amit Kashyap, Director, Tourism & Civil Aviation, HP informed that the four days mountain biking race will start from Shimla on 23rd June and it will culminate at Janjehli on 26th June. He informed that Jai Ram Thakur, Hon’ble Chief Minister, HP will flag off the event at Shimla on 23rd June.
After the flag off, the cyclist will take a round of the main town of Shimla showcasing the rich tradition, heritage and culture. This would be followed by the main race from Mashobra from 24th June, 2022 and will finish at Janjehli on 26th June, 2022 after three competitive stages. Stage-1 start on 24th June from Mashobra till Chindi and night halt at Chindi. Stage -2 on 25th June from Chindi to Janjehli and halt at Janjehli. In the stage -3 the race will be culminated at Janjehli on 26th June. The closing ceremony will be held at Janjehli. This race will be of 180 km and go to the maximum elevation around 2750 meters at the base of Shikari Mata temple and minimum elevation of 800 meters i.e. Tattapani over mighty Satluj river. The race route of day one would be Shimla-Sanjauli-Dhalli-Mashobra-Daak Bangla; 2nd day route would be Daak Bangla-Sipur-Baldeyan-Naldehra-Basantpur-Chaba-Sunni-Tattapani-Alsindi-KotBank-Churag-Chindi; 3rd day route would be Chindi-Kot Karsog market-Sanarli Shankar Dehra-Raigarh-Bulah-Janjehli market and 4th day route would be Janjehli-Jarol-Baniyaad-Thunag-Jarol-Janjehli.
Kashyap stated that the objective of the event is to promote cycling tourism in Himachal Pradesh and specially the beautiful tracks and trails the State has to offer. The Department of Tourism & Civil Aviation is supporting the initiative of Himalayan Adventure Sports and Tourism Promotion Association (HASTPA) under Nai Raahein Nai Manzilein to promote tourism. This MTB event is first of its kind to promote the unexplored areas of Himachal Prade The bikers will also witness the one of the most beautiful tracks. The participants in the race includes from six districts of the State i.e. Shimla, Solan, Bilaspur, Kangra, Mandi and Kullu and there are also participants from 8 different States including Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, UP, Chandigarh and J&K etc. Besides, participants of Delhi Police, SSB, Army & Indian Military Academy.