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Rider drowns during international mountain bike race in Sri Lanka

Rumble In The Jungle five-day race cancelled after organisers learnt of competitor's death...

A man taking part in a mountain bike race in Sri Lanka drowned when he fell into a river during the event.

The rider, who has not been named and came from Nepal, fell into the Mahaweli river at Kuda Oya, some 230 kilometres south east of the country’s capital, Colombo, reports AFP.

Sri Lankan Airlines, which organised the five-day event called Rumble In The Jungle, cancelled the race upon learning of the rider’s death, which happened on Wednesday.

They said his team had been leading the race at the time.

A police spokesman said: "We have recovered the body from a nearby reservoir."

According to AFP, some 39 riders were taking part in the race, mainly from outside Sri Lanka, and including entrants from the UK.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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don simon fbpe | 5 years ago
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RIP brother.

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