How more world-class trails would make Hong Kong a magnet for adventure tourists
Action Asia’s Michael Maddess says the city can be Asia’s centre for trail sports after the success of its first professionally designed mountain bike course
Organisers of the weekend’s C3fit Action Asia Challenge hailed Hong Kong’s first-ever professionally designed mountain-bike trail at Tai Lam Country Park and called on the government to build more world-class facilities for local and overseas adventure enthusiasts.
This is fantastic step in the correct direction for Hong Kong pushing adventure tourism with this Black Diamond mountain bike trail
The 3.8-kilometre Black Diamond course, built at a cost of HK$6 million and designed by the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), was used as part of the 29km mountain biking leg of the race’s adventure category that also features trail running, ocean kayaking and abseiling.
“This is a fantastic step in the correct direction for Hong Kong pushing adventure tourism with this Black Diamond mountain bike trail,” said Action Asia Foundation’s Michael Maddess, who is also race director and course designer.
“We are obviously stoked that Action Asia is one of the first to officially use the downhill course for a major international event that is now in its 17th year.”
Maddess said the project took 10 years of lobbying by various biking groups in Hong Kong along with the Hong Kong Mountain Bike Association before being approved by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD).
We will continue to consult professional trail specialists in future improvement works of mountain bike trails in country park
Hong Kong has about a dozen legal bike trails out of nearly 1,000 and Maddess said the government should consider repeating the Tai Lam project by hiring overseas companies to design courses.