The Acting Mayor of Madiun, Bagus Panuntun, stated that the KAI\nNgebel KOM (King of Mountain) 2026 event, which routes from Madiun City\nto Lake Ngebel on the slopes of Mount Wilis in Ponorogo Regency, is\ncapable of driving sport tourism in the Madiun and Ponorogo areas. Bagus\nPanuntun welcomed the selection of Madiun City as the host for this\nlatest event by Mainsepeda. He noted that the presence of hundreds of\nparticipants from various regions brings a direct impact to both the\neconomic and tourism sectors along the route.<\/p>\n
\u201cHotels are full, culinary spots are busy, and the community has the\nopportunity to showcase Madiun\u2019s signature hospitality,\u201d said Bagus\nduring the send-off of hundreds of participants from the front of the\nKAI Daop 7 Madiun office on Saturday. Bagus admitted to being surprised\nby the high level of participant interest; while the organisers\u2019 initial\ntarget was approximately 300 cyclists, registrations surged to 500\npeople.<\/p>\n
Azrul Ananda, the founder of Mainsepeda, also expressed surprise at\nthe high enthusiasm for this inaugural event. \u201cWe did not expect this.\nUsually, unless it is the Bromo KOM, the number of participants is not\nthis high. But this time, we had 500 participants and even had to close\nregistration due to high demand,\u201d said Azrul. He noted that the high\ninterest shows Indonesian cyclists are always eager to try new routes\nand expressed appreciation for the Madiun City Government\u2019s support.<\/p>\n
The KAI Ngebel KOM 2026 was attended by approximately 500\nparticipants representing 210 communities, 89 cities, 20 provinces, and\nseven countries, including Australia, China, Colombia, France, Germany,\nand the Netherlands. This makes KAI Ngebel KOM the largest debut event\nfor Mainsepeda. For comparison, the Bromo KOM, which is one of\nIndonesia\u2019s most prestigious cycling events, had only about 350\nparticipants in its first edition.<\/p>\n
Beyond presenting new challenges for participants, the event serves\nas an effort by organisers to introduce a new sport tourism destination\nin western East Java. While previous events like Bromo KOM and\nBanyuwangi Ijen KOM focused on the eastern part of East Java, KAI Ngebel\nKOM takes participants through the Pahlawan Street Centre, an iconic\narea in Madiun City featuring miniatures of global landmarks such as the\nStatue of Liberty, the Kaaba, the Merlion, and the Eiffel Tower.\nFollowing a pit stop at UIN Kiai Ageng Muhammad Besari in Ponorogo at\nthe 54.5 km mark, cyclists face a 15-kilometre climb towards Lake\nNgebel.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kai-ngebel-kom-boosts-sport-tourism-in-madiun-and-ponorogo-1785581826", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }