Africa-Press – Namibia. Namibia’s Alex Miller and South Africa’s Lilian Baber won the elite men’s and women’s races in the 2024 Nedbank Namibia XC1 series that were held at the IJG Trails in Windhoek on Saturday.
Another Namibian cyclist, Kevin Lowe, and South Africa’s Michael Foster took second and third place, respectively in the men’s category.
Miller defended his title for the second year running by claiming the top spot in a time of one hour, 28 minutes and eight seconds (01:28:08), while Lowe recorded a time of 01:29:41, and Foster clocked 01:30:50.
Speaking after the race, Miller said he enjoyed it, even though it was hard.
“I enjoyed the track a lot, even though it was not a comfortable race, and I am happy to score 60 UCI (International Cycling Union) points. The points will help me with the rankings, as the more points you get, the higher you get to start in the cross-country races, world championship events and many international events. The more points, the better,” he said.
Miller added he was looking forward to defending his national title this coming weekend before jetting off to Spain, where he will participate in many international events before participating in the African Championships taking place in Morocco between 11 to 12 May.
“This is a fast track with many corners, which can get you out sometimes. So one must be very sharp and play it safe. The weather was perfect, with lots of sun and no wind,” he noted.
In the women’s race, Baber finished in a time of 01:20:30 seconds ahead of Zimbabwe’s Stacy Hyslop, who was second in a time of 01:27:15, with Namibia’s Jean-Marie Mostert in third after clocking 01:28:58.
In the UCI Junior XC0 series that took place on the same day, Namibia’s Roger Suren beat South Africa’s Omar Alexander Wilson and Samuel Cleary to claim the 2024 men’s title at 01:04:54.
Wilson clocked 01:04:56, with Cleary finishing after 01:04:56.
In the women’s junior competition, Namibia’s Delsia Janse van Vuuren beat South Africa’s Carla Jansen van Vuuren and Erin Faye Mackridge.
Delsia came home first at 01:04:41, with Carla clocking in at 01:06:17 and Mackridge finishing at 01:08:14.
Chairperson of Rock and Rut Mountain Bike Club and organiser of the event Hanso Diehl said everything went well, as there were no major incidents recorded on the day.
“We are happy with how the event turned out today. The participation of athletes from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Lesotho raises the level of racing. We’re very proud of how well our Namibian cyclists competed in such a strong field. We appreciate the support of the spectators, volunteers and sponsors who make events like this a success,” said Diehl.
Nedbank Namibia spokesperson Selma Kaulinge said seeing Namibians taking top honours in a field of skilled cyclists from neighbouring countries is testimony to the level of expertise cyclists have accumulated over the years.
“We are extremely proud to see that our contribution to the sport of cycling has produced cyclists who are taking centre-
stage and defending their titles in the different race categories. Our investment in the sport is ultimately to help ensure the grooming of talent to be able to represent the country on both local and international platforms,” she stated.
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