Luwawa Bike Race on Saturday
Over 60 cyclists are Saturday expected to converge on Viphya Plateau in Mzimba District for this year’s Luwawa International Mountain Bike Race.
The competition will be held at an elevation of 1,200 metres in one of Africa’s biggest man-made forests.
Luwawa Forest Lodge Managing Director, George Wardlow, who is the competition’s race director, said of the sixty cyclists who registered for the event, 20 are from outside Malawi.
Wardlow said the contestants will battle it out in junior and senior categories.
“Cyclists in the junior category will cover a distance of 19 kilometres while those in the senior category have 53 kilometres to cover. This is for both men and women,” Wardlow said.
The race got a big boost five years ago after getting certification from the International Cycling Union.
The competition is being held for the fourteenth time and the winner is expected to get K150,000.
Blantyre Cycling Club has been one of the event’s dominant forces over the years and the club has said it is geared to continue performing well.
A member of the club, Martin Jawadi said the club is looking forward to the race after months of preparations.
“We trained hard through mountains and valleys and nothing will stop us from doing well. We are ready for the race,” Jawadi said.
He said his club will feature some of the country’s best cyclists like Steven Nazombe who has won the event on several occasions.
Nazombe lost to Missi Kathumba by two seconds in last year’s tight finish.
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