Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Namibian mountain bike season gets underway this weekend with the first of five races in the Nedbank Namibia Rock and Rut XC MTB Series taking place tomorrow, while the FNB Schools MTB League starts today, with both events taking place at the IJG trails in Kleine Kuppe, Windhoek.
The XC MTB race will have several categories including u10, u12, u14, u16 and junior boys and girls, men and women’s E-bike categories, rhino men (riders over 90kg), giraffe women (riders over 70kg), marathon men and women (sports category); elite and u23 men and women; and sub-veteran (30-39 years), veteran (40-49 years), masters (50-59 years) and grand masters (60-69 years) men and women.
Nicola Fester from the Rock and Rut Mountain Bike Club said that this year’s series will introduce new categories, to accommodate for both elite and novice cyclists.
“The XC0 race is a favourite race for many as it is the first race to kick off the Nedbank Rock and Rut XC MTB series. It is also one of the less technical races, making it a great race for cyclists new to the XC racing scene. We are looking forward to a great day of racing and family fun,” she said.
Nedbank Namibia’s manager for communications and PR, Selma Kaulinge, highlighted the mountain bike series as a welcome addition to the full cycling calendar.
“With our recently concluded Nedbank Festival of Cycling, which saw the Nedbank Cycle Challenge drawing close to 800 cyclists, it is evident that the sport of cycling has made a triumphant comeback since the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. What makes the XC race series one of a kind, is that it’s a competition that is open to both beginner and expert cyclists to experience first-hand the intensities of mountain bike cycling,” she noted.
The Rock and Rut Mountain Bike Club, together with its title sponsor Nedbank Namibia, is planning a number of exciting additions to the races, and encourages cyclists to get acquainted with the IJG Trails just south of Windhoek in the Kleine Kuppe area.
With more than 70 cyclists registered for the XC0 race, interested cyclists can still register to take participate, at an extra fee of N$100 for Rock and Rut members, and N$350 for non-members.
The first leg of the FNB Schools Mountain Bike League starts today at 14h15 at the play pit venue of the IJG trails.
Last year, the Windhoek league drew about 150 riders per race from 26 schools, with children varying in ages from u6 to u18. The aim of the league is to introduce children to mountain biking and thus the event is aimed at riders of all skill levels.
The league will kick off with the u6 boys and u6 and u8 girls at 14h15, to be followed by various age group categories up till u18 boys and girls.
Riders to look out for in the u18 boys category include Daniel Hahn who narrowly beat Kevin Lowe in the first South African Cross Country XC race in Parys last weekend, and their showdown should once again provide a great spectacle.
Roger Suren is the big favourite in the u16 category, after winning by a substantial margin in Parys, while other riders to look out for include Delsia Janse van Rensburg in the girls u16 category, Rosemarie Thiel in the girls u14 category, and Nicole Suren in the girls u12 category.
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