Africa-Press – Namibia. CYCLING fans are in for a treat on Sunday when a top class field lines up for the second leg of the Nedbank Windhoek Pedal Power series on the Dordabis road.
Xavier Papo of Team RMB won the first leg last weekend, when he beat Alex Miller of Team Pupkewitz Megatech and Drikus Coetzee of Team Simonis Storm powered by Hollard in a sprint to the line, but the competition is bound to be tougher this weekend when several more top contenders will be in action for the first time.
They include Namibia’s two-time Olympian Dan Craven and six time Desert Dash champion Kenny Looser, who along with Hugo Hahn, will all turn out for Team Pupkewitz Megatech, and national coach Hans du Toit said the competition will be very strong.
“Pupkewitz Megatech have got a really strong team with Kenny, Dan and Hugo joining them; the Hollard team is always strong with riders like Drikus Coetzee, Ingram Cuff and Gerhard Mans; and Team Cymot has some promising youngsters like Daniel Hahn, Kevin Lowe and Bergran Jensen, so I’d say those are the teams to look out for,” he said.
Du Toit added that Papo’s victory last weekend was very special, coming shortly after the untimely death of Hella Rust, who had played a major role in Team RMB’s development.
“It was very nice to see RMB winning their first race in the series and it’s a big accolade for Hella who had been coaching them for the past year. Congratulations to Xavier, he rode an excellent race and I think he caught the other guys by surprise and they underestimated him a bit. When it comes to a climb you have to be ready to race someone like Xavier, he’s an exceptional climber and the finish suited him well,” he said.
Du Toit added that Sunday’s race will have added significance since it’s a selection race for the Namibian team that will be selected for the Commonwealth Games later this year.
“The competition is very strong for the Commonwealth Games team; we have limited space available and all the riders are here to compete for that. We will probably be looking at a maximum of four riders for the men’s spots, which will include mountain bike and road cyclists, but those details still have to be finalised,” he added.
Miller and Hugo Hahn, meanwhile, received an added boost yesterday when they received a sponsorship of a Haval Jolion SUV from Pupkewitz Megatech to help them get around for training and competitions coming up this season.
“Both of us are very grateful for the support that Pupkewitz Megatech have given us – their commitment means a lot to me and I’m looking forward to racing in their colours,” Miller said. Regarding Sunday’s race, he added that he won’t be caught napping again.
“Xavier timed his race to perfection, I think the rest of us were looking around at each other a bit too much, so he took the gap, but we’ll definitely make sure it does not happen again,” he said.
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