KUCHING: An estimated 250 mountain bikers are participating in the Siol International Mountain Bike Challenge 2019-Asia Mountain Bike Series (SIMBC 2019-AMS) which began on Friday (August 23) and ends today.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah expressed his hope that cycling competitions like SIMBC would hone the skills of cyclists in the state, enabling them to reach greater heights.
“Then, we will have more qualified cyclists to represent Sarawak in the near future,” he said in his speech during a welcoming dinner on Friday (August 23) at Penview Hotel here.
“Hosting events like these will hopefully encourage more people to take up sports,” he remarked.
Abdul Karim reminisced about how the local cycling scene had evolved over the years.
He believed that mountain bikes had only made their debut in Sarawak in the late 80s and early 90s, but from then on the hype had picked up very quickly.
Abdul Karim highlighted that cycling is an event in international sporting platforms such as the Commonwealth Games, the Southeast Asian Games, and the Olympic Games.
“In and around Kuching, cycling is picking up as a sport and also as a recreational activity,” he said, adding that he is fond of cycling as well.
SIMBC is an annual extreme sport event hosted by Kuching City North Commission (DBKU) and was started 16 years ago, said DBKU outgoing mayor Datuk Abang Abdul Wahap Abang Julai.
“SIMBC 2019 is participated by enthusiasts from Japan, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand, and of course Malaysia,” said Abdul Wahap.
Abdul Karim commented that this year’s edition of SIMBC had seen the most number of countries participating.
The competition is held at the Siol Mountain Bike Track at Bukit Siol, Petra Jaya here.
The mountain bikers are vying for a piece of the RM66,622 total cash prize pile.
