Tour de Windhoek a cycling boost

Cycling enthusiasts are in for another treat in the capital with the return of the Pupkewitz Megabuild Tour de Windhoek early next month.
Herma Prinsloo
JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA

WINDHOEK

The coach of the men's national cycling team, Hans du Toit, says the Tour de Windhoek serves as a competition to give an opportunity to riders.

Pupkewitz Megabuild has once again committed N$300 000 towards the event.

The event scheduled for 17 to 20 February is set to see some cyclists challenging for bragging rights.

“Road cycling in Namibia and Southern Africa is isolated which makes having an event where we can get countries together to race, especially from South Africa which is one of our big competitors and a country that does well on the world circuit, is very important.

“Exposing the athletes to this quality of races is a step up in the right direction for their performances in future races like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games,” Du Toit said.

The men’s team race consists of four-day, six-stage road tour around Windhoek which is open for teams of three to six riders, covering a total distance of 400 km.

The women’s team race consists of four-day, six-stage road tour around Windhoek open for teams of three to five riders, covering a total distance of 200 km.

The Tour de Light for individuals comprises of a three-day, four-stage road tour in and around Windhoek.

Registration for the event begins on Thursday, 17 February at 13:00 to 15:00, with a newly introduced Prologue Group Sprint for men and women’s teams only for approximately 3 km to determine the yellow Jersey starting at 18:00.

The event will then continue on Friday, 18 February with the team time trial on the Dordabis road.

Saturday will see the Matchless road race Kermesses at Pupkewitz Megabuild in Windhoek.

The big day of the competition takes place at Von Bach with the road race as well as the prizegiving ceremony set for Sunday.

The team entry fee for the competition is N$5 000, while individual entry cost N$500.

The winners of the men’s and women’s open category in the team race will walk away with N$8 000, while the runners-up get N$5 500 and N$4 000 for the third-place finishers.

The Tour de Windhoek Light winners in the open category will scoop N$1 500, while the runner-up gets N$800, with N$500 reserved for the third-place finishers.

There will be prizes for all those that finish from fourth to 10th place in the competition.

The Tour de Windhoek men’s and women’s categories each consists of five categories, while the Light competition has a total of 14 categories which include veterans (50-59 years old) and grandmasters (60+).

Cyclists Alex Miller, Drikus Coetzee and veteran Dan Craven are among those that are expected to give Namibia a boost at the Tour de Windhoek.

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-20

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