The Northeast MTB Challenge was a doozy, even by Cory Wallace’s wild standards for adventure races. Which, considering the Jasper, Alta racer’s history of far-flung expeditions, is really saying something. Then again, it’s not often you have to talk your way out of a police chase while leading a race, let alone do that multiple times.
Northeast MTB Challenge isn’t designed to be tame. It claims to be the world’s longest singe-day mountain bike race. With a race distance of 301km, that is a well-founded claim. But it wasn’t the mileage or even the 5,000-plus metres of elevation gain on route that were Wallace’s biggest challenge. Instead, it was a course that veered from a restricted zone into one of India’s forbidden areas, where no foreigners are allowed to enter, that caused the Canadian some difficulty.
Racing beyond the Inner Line
Starting at the Dirak Gate, the Northeast MTB Challenge starts at the border of Arunachal Pradesh (A pradesh is like an Indian province), a remote northeast part of the country squeezed in between Bhutan, Myanmar and China. From Namsai, the race traverses the state to its border with Chinese Tibet. The entire state, and so the vast majority of the race, happens to be in a restricted zone. Foreigners accessing a restricted zone require a specific, government issued Protected Area Permit. Getting one requires at least two people travelling together and is usually organised by a guiding company. Even Indian nationals require an Inner Line Permit to visit the far-flung state.
Wallace was travelling with his partner, Nepal’s Usha Khanal. The two new the course would require permits, but thought it had been arranged for the race organisers to get them.
“We were coming just a week before. When we realised the permits weren’t organised, I messaged a friend in Delhi who has all the government connections,” Wallace says. “He connected me to the state officials in Arunachal and they got me my permit.”
It wouldn’t be the last time Wallace would phone Delhi. And arriving and finding no permits, which were needed to start the race, was probably the first hint that this wasn’t going to be a standard event.
“We were on the border, 20km from the race start just waiting. We just had to sleep like we were racing,” Wallace says, hoping the permits would arrive on time.
The Delhi friend came through, just on time. Wallace got his at 8 p.m. before a midnight race start.
Fast tactics pay off, sort of
“The first 80km were on roads along flat lands, we cruised by a giant elephant, it was pretty wild,” Wallace tells. “Then we hit this 1,000m climb up and over this jungle-covered mountain. That’s when I attacked.”
The Canadian figured his main competition was a team of six from the Indian army. Up against numbers, he played tactics.
“I knew attacking the first climb would get people excited and hoped they’d counter attack. Which they did, then blew up,” says Wallace.
One rider stayed with him but, due to some brutal rain and cold weather, eventually pulled out. That left Wallace alone off the front. Solo, except for the lead moto. The wet weather also meant Wallace had pocketed his paper race number so it wouldn’t be destroyed.
When he rolled up to a bamboo gated checkpoint Wallace assumed marked the entry into the restricted zone, five hours into the race and not wanting to give up any of his advantage in the race, Wallace hope the lead moto would be enough to make it through.
“The gate was up, so I just rolled through. The guard yelled, but I just smiled and gave him a thumbs up,” Wallace recalls with a bit of a laugh. “I didn’t have time to stop. We were in a race and these guys were chasing me, right? I thought the lead moto guy would explain what’s up.”
Not so much. It turns out this marked the entry to an area completely prohibited to foreigners due to, Wallace says, a heavy army presence and its proximity to China. Neither he nor the organisers realised the race went into this specific area. So, not knowing what line he was crossing, he’d kept riding as if he had the correct permit in place.
A while later, Wallace noticed a police car behind him on the road.
“I didn’t realise they were actually chasing me, because everyone’s honking all the time there. I kept gapping them on the downhills because the road was so rough,” the Canadian says. “Eventually, they pulled up beside me on a climb and squeezed me into the ditch. They were kinda pissed.”
A permit and permission… maybe
Wallace presented his permit, which the police informed him wasn’t what he needed. Showing them the crumpled race number from his pocket didn’t help much, either. The lead moto joined in the discussion and Wallace continued racing.
Half an hour later, the police were back. While they’d figured what was happening with the race, they told Wallace he still couldn’t continue. The race organisers joined in, making it a big group of 10 trying to sort out the situation, all while second place closed in. So Wallace decided to continue racing.
“Sure enough, they showed up one last time and just blocked the road. They were very nice about it, but they basically said my race was done.”
Wallace had one more tactic. Back in cell reception for the first time this whole ordeal, the Canadian messaged his friends in Dehli that he was being held by the police and needed help.
“They called right away, explained the situation. Then they called some administrator in Delhi. I got the green light to go ahead this one time,” says Wallace, “But we were there for probably 20 minutes, it was quite a long stand-off.”
While all that sounds a little scary from the safety of a couch here in Canada, Wallace doesn’t seem flustered. He also doesn’t fault the police. He’s spent enough time in that part of the world to know to expect the unexpected.
“The police were actually really nice,” Wallace says,” They told me they couldn’t let me by or they’d lose their jobs. We just had a figure things out with the authorities.”
“I was firing on all cylinders”
At this point, there was less than 100km left in the race. More importantly, Wallace’s repeated stops has cut his lead from nearly half an hour to just a couple minutes. Clear of the final administrative hurdles, the Canadian thrilled to be free to race.
“I was just so excited to be able to keep racing that I felt great for the last four hours. I was firing on all cylinders.”
Wallace made it to finish line in Kaho, at the border with China, first (check out the Strava, oof – those are big nubmers). Heavily fortified by both armies, it was one of the more dramatic finish lines and one Wallace says he’ll “never forget.” His 12hr 30min winning time set a new record for the Northeast MTB Challenge.
It also meant Wallace was one of the few Westerners to make it to that area at all, let alone as part of the race.
“I know some other non-locals have made it there before. But not many.”
Lessons learned?
After the race, Wallace and Khanal rode back out of the restricted zone over a few days. They then flew back to Nepal where he’s already getting ready to set off on the next adventure. After years of spending the Canadian winter exploring the area,
“It’s just a reminder that you have to be very careful with permits in this part of the world,” Wallace responds, when I ask if there’s any takeaways from the experience. “It’s not Canada, where you kind of know the process and what you have to do, it’s different everywhere here. It’s often more about who you know than any specific process.”
Wallace now offers guiding tours for mountain bike adventures in Nepal. Don’t worry, though, they’re nothing like his experience in India.
“For our own guiding, we’re never taking people to somewhere we haven’t already been before,” Wallace explains. “There’s a lot of grey areas the first time you go anywhere here, but once you know what’s going on, it’s a lot easier.”
Postcript: A fitting end to nearly 20 years with Kona
Northeast MTB Challenge also ended up being Cory Wallace’s last ride with Kona. In a way, it was a fitting end to nearly 20 years with the once-Canadian brand. Not only was it one of the wildest races of Wallace’s career, or “top three” by his own ranking (which just makes us curious what has to happen to make the top spot), but it ended like so many others have: with a win.
Wallace is still looking for a frame sponsor, with conversations moving with a couple brands, and other support for his 2026 season. But he did want to thank the brands that are continuing to support his adventures. Those include Shimano, NOBL, 7Mesh, F2C Nutrition, Squirt Cycling Products, Julbo Sunglasses, WTB Saddles and, in Victoria, B.C., Straight Up Cycles.
