shimla it will be the 13th edition when the city of shimla will gear up for yet another season of asias oldest crosscountry marathon challenge the 13th mtb himalaya more than 70 riders have confirmed their participation for asias biggest mtb extravaganza the race is all set to commence from the capital city on the september 28the race touted to be one of the toughest across the globe is being organised by himalayan adventure sports and tourism promotion association hastpa from september 28 to october 7the route for this season majorly remains the same from the last year starting from erstwhile british capital of shimla to little lhasa dharamshala however a lot of new offroad sections will be added to give riders an unforgettable experience the riders will be covering a total distance of around 650kms across 8 stages with an elevation gain of a whopping 16500m this will be one of the toughest editions of the race and will be most fiercely competitive with a strong line up of riders from across the worldthe route is often considered as one of the most challenging for an mtb stage race in the world like always the riders will comprise of professional riders from across the world and some of the finest talent in india hero action team indias first fully professional mtb team will also be participating in huge numbers and will aim to bring the title of best indian rider home the armed forces will be represented once again with teams from various departments of the defence forces the riders will be competing in 5 categories men1839 women team of two masters3949 grandmasters49we are thrilled to be going into the 13th edition of the race this september its been a long journey and its heartening to see how the number of riders from across the world is increasing this year will be our highest ever international participation said mohit sood president of hastpahe said mountain biking is still in its incipient stages in india and they are thrilled to see so many young riders go all out