Miller B Renthlei, MTB rider from Aizawl, India

MTB

Why Miller B Renthlei is excited about Red Bull Tlang Ruam in Aizawl

The MTB rider from Mizoram explains how social media videos of him riding down staircases led to Red Bull Tlang Ruam being conducted in his city.

Written by Yogesh Kumar

6 min readPublished on 18.10.2024 · 7:47 UTC

Miller B Renthlei has carved a name for himself in the hills of Aizawl, Mizoram.

Amid the rugged and beautiful terrain of his home city, Miller is known for being a pioneer downhill mountain biker and BMX athlete.

He’s a lawyer whose passion for bike sports took him to the trails and streets on pedals through most of his life.

In the foreground of the picturesque Himalayas, Miller has been an inspiration to local youth and a flagbearer for his sport.

Aside from active competition, he has also been a mentor and event organizer, helping bring exciting MTB competitions to his home state for young riders to succeed.

Building a community in Aizawl

Miller was introduced to cycling in 2008, when he was 15 years old and living in Pune.

He soon joined a local cycling group and learned more about biking, before he returned to Aizawl in 2014.

“The cycling scene in Aizawl was non-existent at the time, and no one was into adventure sports. To start off, I bought a second-hand mountain bike in Aizawl and started riding with some friends,” says Miller of his start in the sport in 2014.

“I bought my first good downhill mountain bike in 2018; it had dual suspension. By then, a few people also had mountain bikes, and we used to gather on weekends to work on our skills. But most of us were primarily BMXers at the time,” says Miller.

His early days in the sport were all about discovery and struggle. In a state where cycling was not a mainstream sport, he had to seek out opportunities and build a community of mountain bikers.

He helped discover and carve out trails in the mountains around Aizawl. Much of his efforts would border on activism to keep his sport alive.

About 40 minutes outside of Aizawl is the Ridgeline Trail, a 2.5-km dirt trail on the Sakawrhmuituai Mountain. In 2019, the land was part of a government initiative to develop it as a downhill mountain biking trail. But the initiative was left in limbo a year later due to a change in policy.

“After it was abandoned, a friend and I took the initiative to properly develop the trail. Sometimes we pay out of our pocket to help dig and build ramps. Soon after we started the work, other local MTB riders took notice and started helping us. The local villagers also got involved and helped us a lot because they liked what we were doing. With everyone’s support, we recently put in a five-foot drop ramp on the trail,” Miller says.

With MTB bikes being hard to come by and fairly expensive for the local riders, the community built by Miller comes together so everyone can practice the sport.

“We share our bikes so everyone gets a chance to ride the trail. We hold a rolling trophy competition to encourage youth to participate and try the sport. We are constantly connecting different lines on the trail and maintaining them,” says Miller.

Creating urban downhill MTB in Aizawl

During the 2020 lockdowns, few riders were going out of the city to ride on the trails. Miller started posting videos of himself riding down the stairs in Aizawl city. And the videos became widely popular on social media.

“People didn’t believe that it was in India. While it seemed amusing to people seeing me ride my bike on steep stairs, I used to be yelled at by locals. I even had to write letters of apology to the local officials,” says Miller.

“The videos also caught the attention of some people in Red Bull, which later turned into a series of conversations, that eventually culminated in Red Bull Tlang Ruam happening in Aizawl,” he adds.

Red Bull Tlang Ruam is India's first urban downhill mountain biking event, which is taking place in Aizawl on 26th October 2024.

The competition gives an opportunity to 22 invited downhill bike riders to showcase their talent to a global audience.

Miller has been closely involved in helping Red Bull Tlang Ruam become a reality,

“I had already started to connect different stairs and add features to level it up to international standards based on videos that I’ve watched of global competitions. It is a big success to me and the local community to have this race in Aizawl,” says Miller.

Giving wiiings to local riders

Aside from qualifier runs and the main race on 26th October, there will be rider briefings, track walks and practice sessions in the two days before the main event; giving local riders a true feeling of being part of an international-level event.

There will also be mentorship sessions conducted by Tomas Slavik from Czech Republic, Pedro Burns from Chile and Jeronimo Paez from Argentina. Miller says the community is abuzz with excitement for the race and to rub shoulders with accomplished international athletes.

“The energy is palpable in the community, and everyone is looking forward to the event. We couldn’t believe that we would get a chance to learn from Red Bull athletes like Tomáš Slavík and Pedro Burns. It will surely help our youth gain exposure and inspire them to move the sport forward like never before. I think it’d also help the locals foster a deeper understanding of the sport,” Miller says.

Aside from the boost to the local MTB scene, Miller sees opportunities for tourism development, cultural exchange, and infrastructure growth as well.

“It’s amazing to have such a major event in my hometown. This is a chance for the world to see what Mizoram has to offer in terms of extreme sports.

“Our state has several other outdoor and adventure sports opportunities that have yet to be discovered. Red Bull Tlang Ruam taking place in Aizawl will also encourage the development of more infrastructure for several other alternative sports,” says Miller.

While Miller is unable to participate in the first edition of the event, he sees this competition as a gateway for himself and others to get into international races.

“I think this is just the beginning. I want to see more young riders from the Northeast participating and leading in international competitions. I am just doing what I love and not doing it with the thought of leaving a legacy,” says Miller.

While he has come a long way in his career, Miller says Aizawl is also growing as a hub for mountain biking.

"When I first started, there were barely any proper bike tracks or trails, and good bikes were unaffordable. Now there’s so much more interest from the youth, and events like Red Bull Tlang Ruam bring global attention to Mizoram as a serious venue for biking. It is putting Aizawl on the map!” he says.