SRI LANKA JUNIOR RIDERS TO TAKE PART IN DMZ CYCLE TOUR IN KOREA
The Sri Lanka Junior Cycling team will leave for South Korea on August 28 to participate in the DMZ International Junior Cycling Championships which is to be held from August 30 to September 3 in South Korea.
The Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka has selected a six-member team which will be captained by Hasith Dulanjana.
The five day event covers a total distance of 510 km and the age category is Under 17-18.
The tour is set to start on August 30, with the first stage from Goseong to Inje, covering a distance of 79 km. The second stage will be on August 31, consisting of a distance of 113 km from Inje to Hwacheon while the third stage from Hwacheon to Yeoncheon (128 km) will be on September 1. The fourth stage will be on September 2
Sri Lanka Junior Riders
from Yeoncheon to Gimpo covering a distance of 103 km while the final stage will be on September 3 from Gimpo to Ganghwa (87 km).
150 riders from nearly 25 countries will participate in the event with the winner to receive prize money of USD 24,000. N. Karunaratne, President, Cycling Federation of Sri Lanka, told the Daily Mirror that this is the seventh international competition where Sri Lanka riders are taking part.
Prior to this, the Navy and Air Force Cycling Clubs took part in two tours to the Philippines. The Sri Lanka Army team visited Malaysia while the Ports Authority team toured Pakistan.
The Sri Lanka women’s team visited China and the Sri Lanka Under-23 team toured Uzbekistan for the Asian Cycling Championships.
According to Karunaratne, this is the first time in the history of Sri Lanka Cycling, that the country has undertaken so many tours. All this is in preparation for the South Asian Games (SAG) set to take place from December 1 to 10 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Sri Lanka Junior team – Hasith Dulanjana (Captain - Galle), A.M. Tharusha Nirmana (Anuradhapura), Keshan Madura Prabath (Kalutara), Sanjaya Madushan (Katana), Rusiru Kavindu (Katana) and Dakshin Vidusha (Gampaha)
Officials – Tudor Wijesuriya (Coach) and Jitmal Ratnayake (Manager).