Kinjah reclaims king of ‘10to4’ mountain bike title

Top Kenyan cyclist and coach David Kinjah reclaimed the “10to4” mountain bike challenge race on Saturday.

By claiming the 16th edition of the annual conservation event held at the slopes of Mt Kenya, Kinjah increased his tally of titles to four.

Kinjah won both the gruelling 89 kilometres “extreme” race on Friday before crossing the finish line ahead of the pack in Saturday’s 63 kilometres “Classic” race.

Last year’s champion Davidson Kamau blamed his failure to keep pace with the leading pack on mechanical problems he suffered in the first 100 metres of the race.

The “10to4” mountain bike challenge raises money for Mt Kenya Trust, a mountain conservation organisation focusing on wildlife protection, tree planting, anti-poaching efforts among other activities.

Riders started at an altitude of 10,000 feet within Kisima farm and cascaded through alpine moorlands, forests and wildlife filled savannah and conservancies before finishing at 4,000 feet in the Borana conservancy. Kinjah, who clinched the title in 2014, 2015 and 2016, maintained the lead in both Friday and Saturday races and hit the finishing line more than five minutes ahead of the rest.

“I had to push through a lot of riders in the beginning to set the pace and remain ahead. The route was challenging as well as scenic. There was a lot of climbing, dust and grass and this is where many fell behind,” he said.

The renowned cyclist attributed his win to experience, good training, nutrition and positive attitude.

“The 10to4 race has been there for more than 15 years and is a good conservation event that we all want to be part of,” he said.

Kamau said he lost about five minutes repairing his bike.