![\"\"](\"https:\/\/8850media.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Philip-Fagerberg-1024x683.jpg\")
Despite delivering a superb performance in the prologue, Philip remained level-headed, cautious not to get carried away with a provisional success. \u201cThere\u2019s still a long road ahead and a lot to fight for in the final races,\u201d he said, referring to the race day which will be completely independent of the prologue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kathmandu-based British rider Christopher Keeling, representing Switch Back Nepal, emerged as the Swede’s closest rival, clocking in just 3.65 seconds behind with a time of 2:08.20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keeling, who finished as the runner-up last year, will undoubtedly be a major contender in the final stages. The competition for the top spot could not be any closer, with Nepal\u2019s Hikmat BK trailing by just 7.20 seconds in third place with 2:11.75.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the top five, Rajesh Magar, despite arriving in Pokhara only the day before, showed incredible grit to secure fourth place with a time of 2:18.90.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about getting into rhythm quickly, especially when you\u2019ve just arrived,\u201d said Magar, who is popular among his fans as \u201cRJ Ripper\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith prologue times not carrying over, I\u2019m looking forward to giving it my all in the finale and hopefully ending up on the podium,\u201d said a confident Magar, hinting at the exciting race to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bhandari leads Masters ‘A’<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
In the Masters categories, seasoned riders showcased their experience and skill. Rajan Bhandari of Syangja claimed provisional pole in the Masters \u2018A\u2019 category with a time of 2:22.75, while Canadian Pat Bernie, of the Flow Trails Collective (FTC), finished second with 2:32.59.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bernie, who had suffered a crash the previous day, showed remarkable resilience, delivering an incident-free run on Thursday. \u201cI\u2019m happy with my performance today,\u201d he said, \u201cand it adds extra motivation as I head into the finale. It\u2019s going to be tough with the dustier trails, but I\u2019m ready to push hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind Bhandari and Bernie, Malaysia’s Mohammed Affandi Abdullah and two Omani riders Mundher Al-Rawahi and Hilal Al-Shuhumi set up an intriguing battle for the top positions in the coming stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Masters ‘B’ (40-49 years), Suraj ‘Buntay’ Panday of Nepal posted a time of 2:30.10, claiming provisional pole despite his dissatisfaction with the run. With no prologue times carrying over to the finale, Panday is gearing up for an all-out assault on Friday\u2019s race. \u201cIt\u2019s a new day, a new race,\u201d the former Nepal No.1 downhiller said, ready to push for the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prologue results also spotlighted an outstanding performance from Mark Doughty in the Masters ‘C’ (50-59 years) category. The experienced rider finished with a commanding time of 2:21.00, a full 35.10 seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Hamed Al-Wadhahi of Oman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doughty\u2019s pace set him apart as the one to watch on Friday, and he looks primed to continue his strong showing in the finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe SS5 is the best trail here and I was able to ride it with my flow, really feeling in sync with the track,\u201d he said. Looking ahead to the final race, the seasoned veteran added, \u201cThe trails for the final won\u2019t exactly align with my preferences. Regardless, I\u2019m determined to give it my all and put in my best performance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the leaders on the men\u2019s side impressed, the junior category added a thrilling layer to the day. Elijah Steward, who narrowly missed the title last year, set a blistering pace to claim first place with a time of 2:35.44. His younger brother, Joby, finished just eight seconds behind in 2:43.47, igniting a fierce sibling rivalry that promises to be one of the highlights of the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the women, Nepal\u2019s No.1 enduro rider Laxmi Magar set a solid pace in the Women\u2019s Open category, leading with a time of 3:25.81. India\u2019s Anissa Lamare finished 14.24 seconds behind after suffering a fall. Their performances make it clear that the women\u2019s competition will be one to watch as the two talented riders set the tone for what promises to be an exciting race. Sweden\u2019s Philip Fagerberg claims pole for Friday race with a prologue win, but fierce competition from RJ Ripper, Chris Keeling and Hikmat BK promises an intense showdown ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[89,56,127,26],"class_list":["post-3963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-enduro","tag-mtb","tag-pokhara","tag-pokhara-enduro"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"8850 Media","author_link":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/author\/usr_8850\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/PoE-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["News<\/a>"],"unlinked":["News<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Enduro<\/a>","MTB<\/a>","Pokhara<\/a>","PokharaEnduro<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Enduro<\/span>","MTB<\/span>","Pokhara<\/span>","PokharaEnduro<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 \u0935\u0930\u094d\u0937 ago","modified":"Updated 2 \u0935\u0930\u094d\u0937 ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 28 \u0928\u094b\u092d\u0947\u092e\u094d\u092c\u0930 2024","modified":"Updated on 29 \u0928\u094b\u092d\u0947\u092e\u094d\u092c\u0930 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 28 \u0928\u094b\u092d\u0947\u092e\u094d\u092c\u0930 2024 19:57","modified":"Updated on 29 \u0928\u094b\u092d\u0947\u092e\u094d\u092c\u0930 2024 16:31"},"featured_img_caption":"[:en]Photos Courtesy: PoE[:]","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3963"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4097,"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3963\/revisions\/4097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8850media.com\/np\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/8850media.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Pat-Bernie-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDoughty\u2019s Timeless Skill<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/8850media.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/468617791_1116175783740573_3967904612466177230_n-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSibling rivalry<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/8850media.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/468651080_1116178730406945_4799223380322067553_n-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\nRelated Images:<\/h3>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"