Arusha cyclists plan to conduct monthly Mountain Biking Challenge series in the Northern city
In a bid to boost cycling as another form of prestigious sports, the Arusha Cycling Association with support from Dorobo Safaris, is launching monthly mountain biking events in the Tanzania’s Northern City.
The Chairperson of Arusha Cycling Association (ACA), Mosses Andrea, revealed that the cycling tours and racing events will now be conducted in the city on monthly basis.
“The second racing event in the just launched series should be expected to come up on the 24th of November 2024 and the third instalment around Christmas time!” He spoke.
January 2025 will therefore see the staging of the fourth series in the ongoing Mountain Biking Challenge of Arusha.
Andrea was speaking at the climax of the just held inaugural event for the Dorobo Safaris Mountain Biking Challenge in Arusha, organized by the ACA in association with Dorobo Safaris with support from Arusha Bicycle Center.
The Dorobo Safaris Mountain Biking Challenge Series One, attracted more than 80 riders, the participants included men, women, aged persons and children.
They were all racing in different routes and distances. The men rode 35 kilometers, while women and older persons cycled for 20 kilometers and children 15 kilometers.
“Being specifically for Mountain Bicycles, the participants were compelled to ride in tough and extremely challenging terrains,” said Andrea.
On his part, the founder and consultant for Dorobo Safari, Thad Peterson who is also a cyclist said his company supports bicycle racing because they want to encourage young Tanzanians to participate in the sporting ventures.
“We want more Tanzanian youths to start taking part in professional and international cycling events overseas and are glad that many young people have been taking part in Mountain Biking challenges,” said Peterson.
One of the young Tanzanians who has been participating in overseas cycling events is Richard Laizer. The cyclist who took part in the Swiss challenge recently was also present during the Arusha mountain biking challenge.
“I am here as one of the event supervisors and this is the first among the many forthcoming series and we hope that there will be more participants in forthcoming events,” said Laizer.
Winners of the Dorobo Safaris Mountain Biking Challenge were Mussa Hussein who took the first position followed by the first runner-up Yusuf Simba and Kelvin Didas in the third position.
For the Women Category Leonia Didas was the winner in the bicycle racing category while Tahia Ramadhan finished in the second position.
Juvenile riders who topped the race were David Meshack in first position, Gerald Laizer who came second and Razack Rajabu finishing third.
