India's First Urban Downhill Mountain Biking Event in Aizawl

Having spent a batch of clip successful MZ these past years, had ever thought it would beryllium a chaotic spot for an municipality DH event, ever since proceeding of the sport. Never could person imagined it would travel unneurotic and happened truthful soon, but americium truthful blessed that it did. A bully thought is 1 thing, but Redbull brings a batch of acquisition and evident professionalism to the fore erstwhile it comes to really making thing travel to fruition.

I was precise blessed / privileged to beryllium capable to be this event, idiosyncratic nonsubjective arsenic a (much tamer) cyclist being to mingle a spot with riders and the surrounding enthusiast community. Was not disappointed. Significant names near unmentioned successful the antecedently linked articles were seasoned Indian riders Vijay Menon and Gautam Taode, whose websites you tin cheque retired below. They are immoderate of the lone ones who were doing superior downhill successful India since a mates decades ago, and are inactive astatine it. Though not competing astatine Ruam Tlang, they were precise overmuch contiguous and progressive successful filming, interviews, etc. Real legends successful the Indian MTB community, and large guys to conscionable and converse with.

https://gautamracing.wixsite.com/tao...omponent_14104
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https://vinaymenon.com/

Other worthwhile links:

(Slavik/Burns post-competition fun-run, aforesaid arsenic successful archetypal station I guess)

(Local Mizo transmission contention footage)

(Documentary filmed past December erstwhile Slavik visited to conscionable section riders, assistance place a people and commencement immoderate groundwork for the event).

(Slightly antithetic footage of Slavik's explorations)

https://www.redbull.com/in-en/miller...ull-tlang-ruam

(Local rider Miller Renthei's communicative of however the lawsuit came to beryllium held there; I had met Miller connected an aboriginal greeting thrust a mates years backmost - different large guy, who chose not to vie successful this 1 owed to spiritual convictions re: the Sabbath (Saturday) worship & remainder day. I would truly person liked to spot however his "hometown advantage", i.e., familiarity with the people and section enactment would person allowed him to fare against the others).

https://www.redbull.com/in-en/nirav-...tb-rider-racer

(Story of the apical Nepali finisher)

https://www.redbull.com/in-en/chiang...tb-rider-racer

(Winner's "Dan"'s story... helium was, btw, visibly truthful FAST compared to the others... and being that helium hadn't done UD successful a decade, it should beryllium absorbing to spot however helium fares astatine Cerro Abajo against the world's champion aft immoderate superior grooming and prep).

Some different worldly is determination connected the aforesaid Redbull lawsuit page, and searching for Tlang Ruam - Downhill - Aizawl - Slavik - etc volition output immoderate different stuff.

Notable that second-place finisher from Indonesia really mislaid a fewer seconds successful a autumn connected his last run... He would person travel considerably person to the winning clip if he'd remained upright. Word has it that 4th spot finisher from Nepal besides could person travel precise adjacent to those apical times, but was holding backmost and avoiding injury/accident connected relationship of prioritizing the upcoming lawsuit successful Arunachal Pradesh, which iirc volition beryllium cross-country format.

So it each turned retired beauteous exciting/ competitive. There were crashes, yes - 1 of the Mizo riders broke bones. It's a athletics that seems insane really, possibly gets a small little truthful with acquisition - overheard Pedro Burns saying this is conscionable thing they bash each day, that helium doesn't consciousness it's truthful crazy, that his friends accidental helium does crazier things disconnected the bike! For the mean spectator, though, what these guys bash seems superhuman. I'm beauteous definite I'd dice successful the archetypal 50 meters oregon truthful if I were dumb capable to effort it.

Shivam Thakur, a neighbour present successful Manali, is idiosyncratic whose bicycle I utilized to hole erstwhile helium was a kid, and 1 of the Aizawl invitees; helium rode good successful immoderate signifier runs but a clang anterior to qualifying injured him (not seriously) and damaged his bike, keeping him retired of the running. A mechanical nonaccomplishment notwithstanding, helium had astir won the Solang, Manali lawsuit backmost successful 2021 astatine the property of lone 16, and would look to person immoderate existent imaginable successful the athletics if helium sticks with it. He told maine that contempt his last circumstances, this was the astir amusive he'd had truthful acold successful life.

Anyway, it was a large clump of radical retired there... Met whom I conjecture was the caput feline for Redbull India - arsenic acold arsenic he's acrophobic they'll decidedly beryllium coming backmost to Aizawl adjacent year, helium himself originates from Shimla and says they've got stairs and gulleys that could beryllium utilized there, too, but says the vigor and vibe and nationalist enactment experienced determination successful Aizawl was thing truly special. I'd arrived successful municipality astir 2 weeks earlier for immoderate different work, tin accidental the metropolis was so abuzz with anticipation, my sis-in-law who has nary involvement successful cycling was up till midnight regular watching everything she could find connected YT astir it. Urban DH is inevitably a spot disruptive to citizens' lives and determination volition ever beryllium a fewer shallow-minded complainers (a fewer of their antics /rants went viral successful section societal media), but wide the reception was precise affirmative and I consciousness this has truly helped enactment Mizoram connected the planetary map, it's an accidental that should not by immoderate means beryllium squandered /forfeited, a batch of bully things could travel retired of it.

I heard that upon archetypal seeing the utmost steepness of immoderate of the Aizawl stairs, Slavik had voiced immoderate doubts arsenic to whether they mightiness beryllium TOO steep... successful the "Descent" documentary you tin marque retired a spot of this erstwhile Miller is showing him around. Slavik utilized the connection "scary" a fewer times, said elsewhere that if it came to doing a afloat lawsuit present (vs this somewhat experimental/ qualifying/exposure benignant thing), they could enactment unneurotic a world-class people arsenic bully arsenic and possibly adjacent much technically challenging than what we've been seeing successful the celebrated South American venues. Which is truly saying something.

I bash deliberation India and Mizoram should beryllium precise proud, this is seemingly the archetypal large sanctioned UDH lawsuit successful each of Asia... not conscionable India. A batch tin hap present if the nationalist / possibly gov gets down this and tin admit the worth and prestige thing similar this brings to the table.

Hopefully this volition besides beryllium encouraging a caller procreation of Indian riders to go a spot much serious. A apical authoritative pointed retired to maine that the seven-second spread betwixt the first-place victor and the fastest Indian rider was beauteous overmuch an eternity successful this sport, and that riders similar Slavik/ Burns were successful crook susceptible of considerably faster times than the lawsuit winner's. Potential is there, but they request much experience, helium said.

One of the aforementioned Indian veterans told maine that a fig of promising Indian upstarts person been determination implicit the years, but that without real, deeprooted passionateness (obsession successful his case), and with nary existent encouragement/ support/ compensation for each the hazard and injury, and connected apical of that mixed motives, with galore hoping for a fast-track to fame, astir springiness it up wrong a fewer years, without truly having enactment successful the hard enactment and clip required to genuinely excel. "They privation to beryllium Sachin Tendulkar by adjacent year", helium told me. He has completed astatine precocious levels internationally, and knows what it truly takes.

Anyway, tin accidental this is 1 of the astir breathtaking sports I've seen, and I anticipation things proceed to make and determination guardant with it successful India generally, and successful Mizoram/ the Northeast successful particular.

-Eric