Yak Attack Single Track Edition: An Iconic Race in Nepal Returned for its 13th Edition
Reigning 3-time winner, and current 3-time 24-Hour Mountain Bike Race World Champion, Cory Wallace, defends his title, while Nepali Budhi Bahadur Tamang (Roan) takes 2ndand uses the training to win the South Asian Games Cross-Country Mountain Bike Gold two weeks later.
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The Yak Attack organizing team wanted to change the race this year and added two stages full of singletrack, a new trail on stage 3, and the world’s highest timed “Enduro” section to make this edition an unforgettable one.
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Stage 1 was a loop around Besi Sahar, allowing the racers to experience the local singletrack trails and views, while settling in before the race started climbing around the circuit. 3-Time reigning champion Cory Wallace, determined to start his title defense properly, won the stage followed by Roan Tamang.
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Stage 2 is one of the harder stages of the race, taking riders from Besi Sahar all the way to Chame at 2700 meters. The first 40 km of the stage are undulating adding to the climbing for a total of 2900 meters elevation gain on the stage. Wallace, looking to put a gap on the rest, rode the 66-kilometer stage in under 4 hours, a new course record and nearly an hour ahead of second place Tamang.
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Stage 3 took riders to Manang (3500 meters) adding a diversion to previous years that included a new section of amazing singletrack climbing and descending via Ghyaru into Manang. Wallace and Tamang continued their hold on the race finishing 1-2 again.
After the rest day, Stage 4 took riders on 100 percent singletrack from Manang to Phedi, a 16-kilometer stage that has been called during previous years some of the hardest, but most amazing riding. Wallace and Tamang continued their 1-2 finishes, but 3rdplace was a battle between 4 riders all within less than 20 minutes.
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Stage 5 crosses the Thorong La at 5416 meters is the most-feared stage of Yak Attack and can completely change the results. While not a long stage, only 27 kilometers, the first 3 kilometers take the riders up to 5416 meters and can take more than 3-4 hours for the average racer. Even an hour-long gap is not a safe lead on this stage. The downhill after the pass included a timed “Enduro” section, the highest in the world. While Wallace won the overall stage, followed closely by Tamang in second, fellow Canadian and Kona Bikes teammate, Rhys Verner, tied Tamang on the timed Enduro stage. He also finished 3rdoverall for the day, a comfortable 29 minutes ahead of 4thplace, securing him 3rdoverall in the race.
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Stage 6 was a new entrant into the race, part of this editions “Single Track” theme. The stage took riders on a loop from Kagbeni, with the famous Lubra Valley singletrack bringing them back to the finish. Wallace continued his dominance, while Verner finished a close second. Tamang had a slower day finishing off the podium but kept enough of a lead to remain in second place for the race.
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The final stage took riders from Kagbeni to Tatopani for a soak in the hot springs before the group ride and bus transfer to Pokhara for the closing ceremony. Wallace easily closed his 4thstraight Yak Attack victory, while Tamang finished in 2ndplace and Verner in 3rd. Claire Demarquet won the female category, while Harka Lama won the 40+ age group for the second straight year.
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Yak Attack will return in 2020 with a similar singletrack version and is currently offering a first-come, first-serve, early entry sale.
