Two mountain bikers for Kerala Championships
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Amal
Two mountain cyclists – Amal Suranga of Sri Lanka Air Force and Sumeda Warnakulasuriya of the Sri Lanka Army – will take wing to Kerala, India to take part in the Fourth Kerala MTB Mountain Bike Championships to be held on February 16. The cyclists will leave Sri Lanka today for the one day event.
Sumeda
This is an international event where cyclists from 20 countries will take part on the basis of two riders from each country. The event is 72 km long taking the cyclists through jungle and mountain terrain. The winner of the event will be in line for a cash award of Indian Rupees Four Lakhs. The other cyclists to finish the event will also be in line for cash awards.
The invitation to take part in this event came to the Sri Lanka Cycling Federation who in turn handed the invitation to the Sri Lanka Mountain Bike Association who had decided to send their two top riders for the event. This was conveyed to the Sunday Times by the President of the Sri Lanka Mountain Bike Association Amal Suriyage.
Leonard Smith
The two riders for the event had been chosen by four events where the riders had taken part. The last was the Rumble in the Jungle where the riders had ridden from Kudaoya to Haputale taking them through rough terrain. Foreign cyclists too had taken part in this event. Amal Suranga and Sumeda Warnakulasuriya took fifth and sixth places. These two cyclists are also in the Mountain Bike pool which consists of ten riders. Leonard Smith will accompany the cyclists as the manager-cum-coach.