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THE Nedbank National Cycling Championship takes place this weekend with both the men and women’s national titles set to be keenly contested.
The Nedbank National Time Trial Championship takes place tomorrow, starting at 15h00 on the new Rehoboth road behind Cimbebasia, with the elite men covering 40km and the elite women 20km.
On Sunday, the Nedbank National Road Race Championship takes place, starting at 06h30 in the same vicinity, with the elite men covering 134km and the women 116km.
In the men’s road race Drikus Coetzee will start as the favourite to retain the title that he won last year, after a dominant display last weekend.
Riding in the opening leg of the Nedbank Windhoek Pedal Power Series, over 100km on the Dordabis Road, Coetzee destroyed the field to win by close to five minutes.
He broke away from the pack early on, along with JP Burger and top junior Kevin Lowe, and then shortly after the turnaround point turned on the gas to pull away at the front. Coetzee went on to win in 2 hours 20 minutes 29 seconds, finishing nearly five minutes ahead of Lowe and Burger (2:25:16), while Gerhard Mans and Ingram Cuff followed in 2:26:50.
A strong contender for the men’s title, Alex Miller, will not be in action as he is currently competing with his professional team on the South African mountain bike circuit.
Miller – Namibia’s 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist – had a fine start to the season last weekend when he came second at the Attakwas MTB Race – South Africa’s premier one-day MTB race over the Outeniqua mountains, finishing behind South Africa’s Matt Beers.
Martin Freyer, who won the 1 000km Big Munga in SA last month could also be amongst the title contenders if he enters, while Tristan de Lange, who represented Namibia at the 2021 Olympic Games, but has since retired from international racing, confirmed that he will be competing, but ‘just for fun’.
In the time trial, JP Burger is the defending champion, but can expect strong competition from Coetzee.
Vera Looser has dominated the Elite Women’s category for the past decade, but this year faces stiff competition from an upcoming bunch of talented cyclists.
Looser won last weekend’s Dordabis Road Race, but was pushed all the way before beating another five cyclists in the final sprint to the line.
Looser completed the women’s 80km route in 2:15:17, with Melissa Hinz, Courtney Liebenberg and Anri Krugel finishing in the same time, followed by national u23 champion Monique du Plessis (2:15:18) and Risa Dreyer (2:15:19).
There will also be numerous other categories ranging from juniors and veterans to masters and grand masters, with the prize giving ceremony due to take place at the Nedbank Namibia Campus at 14h00 on Sunday.
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