Africa-Press – Namibia. ALEX Miller and Monique du Plessis were crowned Namibia’s national mountain bike champions after winning the Nedbank Namibia National Cross Country Championships at the IJG Trails at Farm Windhoek on Saturday.
Miller won the title for the third year in a row after completing the Elite Men’s six-lap course in one hour 19 minutes 18 seconds, to finish nearly four minutes ahead of Xavier Papo (1:23:10), while Marc Epler came third in 1:32:51.
In a supreme performance, Miller took the lead from the start and by the end of the first lap had already built up a 30-second lead over Papo. He was never challenged and gradually pulled further away to take the chequered flag with a flamboyant wheelie for his fans.
“I’m very happy to be able to have defended the title for the third year in a row. I always pride myself to be able to wear the Namibian flag overseas – it’s such an honour to represent the country, so I’m satisfied with my ride,” he said after the race.
“I’ve been riding for the Trek Vaude team in Europe and its really good to be able to wear the national jersey with them. The races have been hard, but it’s the only way to go forward and I love measuring myself against the best of the best,” he added.
Miller now leaves for Birmingham to represent Namibia at the Commonwealth Games along with Papo, and said he was well prepared for the event.
“I’m looking forward to the Commonwealth Games – it’s one of the biggest events of the year so I’m focussed towards that,” he said, adding that he hoped to finish amongst the top ten,” he said.
“It’s tough to say, because I’ll be racing against some of the best riders in the world. A top ten finish would be great, I always aim for as high as possible, so we’ll see how it goes,” he added.
Miller’s performance will also strengthen his world ranking which will come in handy at the World Championships in France in August, where the top-ranked riders get preferential starts.
He is currently ranked 15th amongst the top u23 riders in the world and the second-ranked African behind South Africa’s Alan Hatherly.
The 19-year-old Du Plessis, meanwhile, won the Elite Women’s title for the first time after a great performance that saw her finishing nearly seven minutes ahead of Nicola Fester.
Du Plessis won the five-lap race in 1:25:07, with Fester coming second in 1:31:59 and Marion Schoneke third in 1:35:38.
An emotional Du Plessis said it was a special victory.
“I’m just so happy to win this title. It’s been a rough few weeks, and I didn’t know what my form was, I was doubting myself a bit, so I’m just so happy to end the season off with a win, and I’m also getting some extra points for Europe,” she said.
“I’m going to Europe next month for some racing there with the other (junior) boys, so I’m super excited to wear the flag on my chest over there,” she added.
Joining her in Europe will be Kevin Lowe and Daniel Hahn who finished first and second in the junior boys race.
Lowe won the race over five laps in 1:07:17, followed by Daniel Hahn (1:12:21) and Adrian Key (1:12:37).
The two juniors have had an impressive season, beating South Africa’s top riders at several events and are currently ranked amongst the top 20 juniors in the world.
Hahn is ranked 14th and Lowe 20th and Saturday’s performances should see them climbing the rankings.
Bergran Jensen won the u23 men’s category over six laps in 1:23:37, followed by Simon Kaita (1:36:04) and JG van der Westhuizen (1:39:16), while Cindy Rowland won the u23 women’s category over four laps in 1:37:43.
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