Nirjala Tamrakar
Black Beauty: Building a Body for a Runway and a Single Track
Twenty-eight-year-old Nirjala Tamrakar is a champion mountain biker. She was born and raised in Patan in the Kathmandu Valley. When she was in her early 20s, Nirjala participated in a number of beauty contests, and although she never won a main title, she did receive various honors such as 'Miss Talent,' 'Miss Personality' and 'Miss Friendship.'
Since dedicating her career exclusively to professional mountain bike racing, she has won numerous records in Nepal and was the first Nepali woman to ride from Lhasa, Tibet, to Kathmandu, and to compete in the Yak Attack, a cycling race around the Annapura Circuit in mid-Western Nepal. In March, Nirjala won second place in the Kanchenjunga Challenge, a nine-day race in Sikkim, India, and in April, she won a gold medal in the Nepali National Games.
Since dedicating her career exclusively to professional mountain bike racing, she has won numerous records in Nepal and was the first Nepali woman to ride from Lhasa, Tibet, to Kathmandu, and to compete in the Yak Attack, a cycling race around the Annapura Circuit in mid-Western Nepal. In March, Nirjala won second place in the Kanchenjunga Challenge, a nine-day race in Sikkim, India, and in April, she won a gold medal in the Nepali National Games.
