MOUNTAIN BIKING: Dr Mahathir expects LIMBC to grow bigger
FORMER prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is confident the Langkawi International Mountain Bike Challenge (LIMBC) will continue to grow in stature as a world-class event.
Dr Mahathir, who officiated the prize giving ceremony of the LIMBC yesterday, said he was delighted with the progress of the event since it was first held in 2010.
The LIMBC has gone from having one stage sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) in the inaugural edition to having three days sanctioned last year.
This year, LIMBC was upgraded to a fully-sanctioned (all six days) 2.2 level cross country stage race.
“I am quite satisfied with the progress made this year. The event has managed to attract increased attention from not just competitors but also fans of the sport,” said Dr Mahathir, who is also the LIMBC patron.
“I believe LIMBC will continue to improve and be more successful in the future, where I am confident even more cyclists from all over the world will come to Langkawi to compete or just cycle here.
“The race introduces them (riders) to the beauty of Langkawi and the facilities available here. By this we hope they will come back again to enjoy Langkawi with their families in tow.”
Dr Mahathir added that the tracks used for the LIMBC, which offered a total prize purse of US$125,000 (RM397,640) compared to RM300,000 last year, is likely to be used for horse riding events.
“We have been studying the types of sports which are suitable to be held in Langkawi and one of them is horse riding.
“We may use the LIMBC tracks to hold long distance endurance events in the future.
“This way, the tracks will be able to be utilised continuously year-round not only for competition but also to encourage tourists to use them.”
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