Miller, Vorster too strong
The talented 18-year-old Alex Miller once again impressed with his class when he beat defending champion Tristan de Lange in yesterday's Nedbank national marathon mountain bike championships.
It was the first head-to-head race between Miller, a two-time continental junior title holder, and 21-year-old De Lange, who won last year's 70-kilometre event.
Yesterday, the two broke away from the rest of the pack almost from the start, setting a furious pace over the 70km route that started and finished at the Waldorf School in Avis.
Miller, who had already become Namibia's youngest national road cycling champion earlier this month, broke away from De Lange with about five kilometres to go and displayed awesome speed and power to win by a few minutes. Xavier Papo (2017 champion and 2018 runner-up) finished in third place.
The women's race was won for the fifth consecutive time by Michelle Vorster.
Despite the absence of her main rival Vera Adrian, Vorster was kept honest for the entire 70km by former South African national rider Cherie Vale Redecker, who got married to Namibian cyclist Heiko Redecker a few years ago.
Vorster clinched the win in a final sprint, partly by finding the straighter line around the final corner, compared Redecker, who arrived in Windhoek last week from training in Europe.
With riders such as Miller, De Lange and Vorster all in good form, Namibia seems to be in a strong position ahead of the upcoming African continental mountain bike championship to be held at the Farm Windhoek course on 12 and 13 April.
ANDREW POOLMAN
It was the first head-to-head race between Miller, a two-time continental junior title holder, and 21-year-old De Lange, who won last year's 70-kilometre event.
Yesterday, the two broke away from the rest of the pack almost from the start, setting a furious pace over the 70km route that started and finished at the Waldorf School in Avis.
Miller, who had already become Namibia's youngest national road cycling champion earlier this month, broke away from De Lange with about five kilometres to go and displayed awesome speed and power to win by a few minutes. Xavier Papo (2017 champion and 2018 runner-up) finished in third place.
The women's race was won for the fifth consecutive time by Michelle Vorster.
Despite the absence of her main rival Vera Adrian, Vorster was kept honest for the entire 70km by former South African national rider Cherie Vale Redecker, who got married to Namibian cyclist Heiko Redecker a few years ago.
Vorster clinched the win in a final sprint, partly by finding the straighter line around the final corner, compared Redecker, who arrived in Windhoek last week from training in Europe.
With riders such as Miller, De Lange and Vorster all in good form, Namibia seems to be in a strong position ahead of the upcoming African continental mountain bike championship to be held at the Farm Windhoek course on 12 and 13 April.
ANDREW POOLMAN
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