Africa-Press – Namibia. TOP Namibian cyclist Drikus Coetzee was in superb form over the weekend when he won one of the world’s toughest mountain bike marathons, the Munga Grit Cradle in South Africa in a new record time.
TOP Namibian cyclist Drikus Coetzee was in superb form over the weekend when he won one of the world’s toughest mountain bike marathons, the Munga Grit Cradle in South Africa in a new record time.
Coetzee completed the ultra-marathon over 514km in a time of 21 hours 47 minutes, which broke the previous record by just over an hour. The former record holder, South Africa’s Hansie Joubert came second, finishing one hour 10 minutes behind Coetzee.
The race started and finished at the Cradle of Humankind just outside Johannesburg, heading north-west to Magaliesberg and Rustenburg, before swinging west and then south towards Swartruggens and Groot Marico.
Coetzee yesterday said the conditions were quite tough.
“The race started at noon last Friday and it was very hot at the beginning and hardly cooled down. Besides that we had to ride into a strong head wind for about 180km before it later changed to a cross-wind,” Coetzee said.
“We had to ride on corrugated and sandy roads and my shock shifter broke en route to the event so I had to ride the whole way without suspension and it was very demanding on my body,” he added.
Besides that there were also some navigational problems as Coetzee got lost at a stage and was passed by Joubert. Coetzee had to ride an extra 6km before finding his way back, during which time Joubert took over the lead.
“I was leading from the beginning, but I got lost at a stage – the race was totally self-navigated, so there were no marshalls and I had to ride an extra 6km before I found my way back,” he said.
“I knew the first water point after 270km was a critical stage of the race so I didn’t stop, I just grabbed some water bottles and continued pushing on. Hansie was still leading, but I started to chase him down and caught up soon after. We rode about 40km together through a rocky section on the course, but after about 320km I managed to break away on a big climb,” he said.
Coetzee pulled away and went on to complete an emphatic victory over the pre-race favourite Joubert, while his new record time was an added bonus.
“I wanted to win the race, but I never thought about breaking the record, so that came as a nice surprise and was just a bonus. Hansie is a legend in endurance riding in South Africa, he has won many titles including the Big Munga over 1050km, so I was very happy that I beat him. He’s a really nice guy, and congratulated me on my win, but I’m sure we will have some big battles ahead,” he said.
Coetzee’s victory was just the latest accolade in a year of some brilliant achievements.
In February he won the Namibian Road Race title for the second year in a row, before he shifted his focus to the endurance events.
In April he won the Munga Grit Tankwa in the vicinity of Ceres in the Cape Province in a new record time, while he won the 361km MTB Challenge in Oudsthoorn in another new record time the following month.
In August he won the mixed category of the Trans-Baviaans MTB Race over 230km along with South Africa’s Yolande de Villers, while they finished second overall, thereby securing the highest place for a mixed team in the history of the race.
On 24 September, a week before the Munga Grit, Coetzee won the Mabaruli-Solitaire MTB Challenge over 267km from Windhoek to Namib Desert Lodge, before continuing to rewrite the record books in South Africa the following week.
As if that’s not enough, Coetzee, is now preparing for the Paratus Namibian Cycle Classic this coming weekend and is aiming to win the elite men’s race over 100km.
“I won the Cycle Classic a few years ago and came second behind Hugo Hahn last year after just losing out in the sprint to the line, so I’m quite keen to reclaim that title,” he said.
Coetzee thanked his various sponsors for their support.
“Hollard Namibia made this trip possible, but I’d like to thank all my other sponsors namely the Janine and Suzelle Davin Sport Trust Fund, Indongo Toyota, Deopharma Namibia and BRG Biokinetics,” he said.
Coetzee completed the ultra-marathon over 514km in a time of 21 hours 47 minutes, which broke the previous record by just over an hour. The former record holder, South Africa’s Hansie Joubert came second, finishing one hour 10 minutes behind Coetzee.
The race started and finished at the Cradle of Humankind just outside Johannesburg, heading north-west to Magaliesberg and Rustenburg, before swinging west and then south towards Swartruggens and Groot Marico.
Coetzee yesterday said the conditions were quite tough.
“The race started at noon last Friday and it was very hot at the beginning and hardly cooled down. Besides that we had to ride into a strong head wind for about 180km before it later changed to a cross-wind,” Coetzee said.
“We had to ride on corrugated and sandy roads and my shock shifter broke en route to the event so I had to ride the whole way without suspension and it was very demanding on my body,” he added.
Besides that there were also some navigational problems as Coetzee got lost at a stage and was passed by Joubert. Coetzee had to ride an extra 6km before finding his way back, during which time Joubert took over the lead.
“I was leading from the beginning, but I got lost at a stage – the race was totally self-navigated, so there were no marshalls and I had to ride an extra 6km before I found my way back,” he said.
“I knew the first water point after 270km was a critical stage of the race so I didn’t stop, I just grabbed some water bottles and continued pushing on. Hansie was still leading, but I started to chase him down and caught up soon after. We rode about 40km together through a rocky section on the course, but after about 320km I managed to break away on a big climb,” he said.
Coetzee pulled away and went on to complete an emphatic victory over the pre-race favourite Joubert, while his new record time was an added bonus.
“I wanted to win the race, but I never thought about breaking the record, so that came as a nice surprise and was just a bonus. Hansie is a legend in endurance riding in South Africa, he has won many titles including the Big Munga over 1050km, so I was very happy that I beat him. He’s a really nice guy, and congratulated me on my win, but I’m sure we will have some big battles ahead,” he said.
Coetzee’s victory was just the latest accolade in a year of some brilliant achievements.
In February he won the Namibian Road Race title for the second year in a row, before he shifted his focus to the endurance events.
In April he won the Munga Grit Tankwa in the vicinity of Ceres in the Cape Province in a new record time, while he won the 361km MTB Challenge in Oudsthoorn in another new record time the following month.
In August he won the mixed category of the Trans-Baviaans MTB Race over 230km along with South Africa’s Yolande de Villers, while they finished second overall, thereby securing the highest place for a mixed team in the history of the race.
On 24 September, a week before the Munga Grit, Coetzee won the Mabaruli-Solitaire MTB Challenge over 267km from Windhoek to Namib Desert Lodge, before continuing to rewrite the record books in South Africa the following week.
As if that’s not enough, Coetzee, is now preparing for the Paratus Namibian Cycle Classic this coming weekend and is aiming to win the elite men’s race over 100km.
“I won the Cycle Classic a few years ago and came second behind Hugo Hahn last year after just losing out in the sprint to the line, so I’m quite keen to reclaim that title,” he said.
Coetzee thanked his various sponsors for their support.
“Hollard Namibia made this trip possible, but I’d like to thank all my other sponsors namely the Janine and Suzelle Davin Sport Trust Fund, Indongo Toyota, Deopharma Namibia and BRG Biokinetics,” he said.
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