Mountain Bike riders ready to start!
By Staff Writer
Mountain Bike Racing, MTB, is being fired up in local youngsters to give the Olympic sporting event an early build up of interest in Samoa.
The national sporting body for cycling, Bike Samoa Federation, BSF, is the force behind the promotional push.
A recent BSF organised bike race at the Tuanaimato Horse Racing Track attracted public attention with 30 cyclists taking part in competition.
Racing was open to all ages at either the Kids, Intermediate or Open Division.
“A wonderful opportunity for our children to safely participate in bike racing and build their bike skills,”Nalei Paul, Secretary-General for the Bike Samoa Federation (BSF) highlighted.
“We had parents racing as well, so it was a great chance for families to ride together.”
Mountain Bike Racing (MTB), an Olympic sport since 1996, is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain, according to a BSF statement.
There are many different types of MTB races, the most popular being cross-country.
“Usually a cross-country MTB race would be 6 to 8km but since we are very much at the development stage, the course we used was only 1.6km and mainly flat, although there’s a bit of a rise climb on the other side of the horse track,” explained Darren Young, Vice-President for BSF.
“The little kids biked a 600m distance. Our goal is to introduce MTB racing gradually, make sure its fun and safe for all ages to come give it a go.
“ Before we start doing more rougher courses and longer distances.”
According to Ms Paul, this is just the first of many MTB events that BSF will be hosting, alongside their regular road biking training and activities.
“We have a regular Group Ride every fortnight that starts from Coffee Roaster and does a ride to Malua and back, with a shorter ride around the town area.”