体坛英语新闻：Nepali "world cyclist" starts Mt. Qomolangma ascent

KATHMANDU, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Pushkar Shah, who is more popularly known as "world cyclist" after he earned national and international fame for travelling to more than 150 countries on his bicycle, began his first attempt to scale the world tallest peak Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) on Thursday.

A five member team led by Shah, which was stationed at the Base Camp situated at an altitude of 5,343 meters, left for the second camp situated at an altitude of 6,900 meters Thursday morning, according to nepalnews.com report.

The team aims to reach the top of Mt. Qomolangma on May 16.

Called the "Peace expedition 2010", the Nepali cyclist had earlier told the media that he is going on this expedition to pray for world peace.

After his request for financial help was denied by the government, Shah had sold his precious belongings, including the mountain bike in which he rode around the world, to raise money for the expedition.