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Press Release – LiMBC Primed for Action

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16, 2011 – Langkawi is primed for a world-class off-road adventure in the second edition of the Langkawi International Mountainbike Challenge (LIMBC) which begins with Stage 1 at the Langkawi Sports Complex on Tuesday.

Besides minor technical adjustments made upon advice from UCI commissaires, the organisers are looking forward to an action-packed five-day event, starring some of the world’s top 10 riders, including African champion, Burry Stander.

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LIMBC 2011, dubbed the Tropical Forest Challenge, will officially start on Monday Oct 17 as registration day.

It will feature five stages that begin with Stage 1 on Oct 18 with the 60km round island race to be flagged off by race honorary patron, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, followed by the cross country Olympic which starts and finishes at Kampung Tok Senik Resort as Stage 2.

Stage 3 is a 6-hour endurance cross country special stage race at Telaga Harbour Park, Pantai Kok, followed by the nerve-shredding King of the Mountain and cross country race which will end at the Gunung Raya Hill as Stage 4, before the event culminates with Stage 5, a cross country short circuit race.

“Everything is going according to plan. The only technical change that has been made is the lap distance for Stage 3 endurance race, which has been shortened from 7km to 4.5km per lap.

“Our workforce is dutifully putting the finishing touches before the big flag off,” said race organiser, Datuk Abdul Malik Mydin.

Abdul Malik also welcomed the presence of UCI adviser, Kevin MacCuish, whose technical input would go a long way in helping make LIMBC a platform for Malaysia to bid for the right to host one of UCI World Cup series.

“It is our intention to bring one of the UCI World Cup legs into these parts of the world by 2013 and the UCI Mountainbike World Championship in 2015. LIMBC therefore will come under great scrutiny from UCI,” said Abdul Malik.

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The second series of LIMBC has attracted a group of world-ranked riders, notably South Africa’s Olympic hopeful, Stander, Germany’s world No 7 Karl Platt and Italy’s world No 8 in women’s elite marathon rankings, Michela Benzoni.

Lending a touch of glamour to the race is the rare appearance of road ace Chris Froome of Britain. Froome, who finished runners-up in the recent Vuelta, the Tour of Spain,  and the promising Adam Blythe will be taking part in the later stages of LIMBC and also the jamboree as they seek some off-road action after an unforgettable season.

The race, organised by Human Voyage Sdn Bhd, is sponsored by Telekom Malaysia Berhad and Yayasan Al-Bukhary as the race’s gold sponsors, with Sapura Group, Genting Malaysia Berhad, Perdana University, Berjaya Corporation, AmBank Group, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and ALM Group Sdn Bhd as silver sponsors. AmBank Group is also the Official Bank. Proton is the official car sponsor.

The event is supported by KTM Berhad and the Malaysian Conventions and Exhibitions Bureau (MyCEB), with Hotel Bayview Langkawi as the official hotel. Mutiara Smart Computing Sdn Bhd is the official ICT support partner.

preparation
Preparation for LiMBC 2011