Race Across SA winner Drikus sets ‘achievable’ record

Namibia's ultra-cyclist Drikus Coetzee believes the record time he set in the first edition on the new Race Across South Africa route could well be improved by up to 24 hours if weather conditions are more favourable.

Seven days, 12 hours and 02 minutes after the start of the 2026 race, Coetzee was met at the finish line in Wellington (Western Cape) on Monday night by his great friend Nabil Robiati, ultra-cyclist from Windhoek.

The self-supported 1,969-kilometre race over mostly gravel roads, farm tracks, and remote passes – with 25,000 metres of vertical ascent – started near Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal the previous Monday morning.

Strong headwinds was just one of the challenges Mother Nature had in store during the last week. During a particularly strong windstorm on Sunday – the likes of which Coetzee said he had never experienced before – he was walking backwards pushing his bike because the dust and sand was exfoliating his face.

Later Sunday, he thought he’d get lucky on a 25 km mostly downhill section towards Montagu – only to experience more rain and mud which clogged up his wheels and forced him to be carrying his bicycle around.

The 33-year-old Coetzee said the route offered some of the most beautiful scenery he could wish for, but it was far from easy.

“The Race Across South Africa threw every challenge at the competitors this year. From windstorms to endless kilometres of unrideable thick mud, to river crossings, freezing cold, to mechanical problems … I’m glad to have been able to pull off the win – which was my main goal, rather than to set a fast time record for future challengers to chase.

“In reality the conditions were much tougher than even the organisers had anticipated.

“I felt the victory would be important for not only myself, but for Namibia and for everyone who had been supporting and following our progress on the tracking website.

“The first 650 km in KZN province, up to checkpoint 2, contained about half (12,500) of the total climbing metres. Through the Eastern Cape we experienced heavy rains, riding almost 200 kilometres in continuous rain and mud.

“I maintained quite a fast pace initially up to Pearston, but then decided to do a steady 16- to 17-hour shift during the day and to get six or seven hours of sleep per night. I wanted to experiment on the effect of longer sleep time on my energy levels (compared to previous similar ultra-races) – especially with the luxury of having the lead I had already built up.

“I learnt a lot through the experience which I could utilise in other bigger challenges I have planned.

“I also had some mechanical difficulties in muddy parts of the Eastern Cape. I had to replace brake pads. Fortunately I only had one puncture. My brake lever stopped working for a day, and then suddenly resumed normal function again – probably just from all the mud and water.

“It wasn’t all just gravel roads … some included sections are not rideable and require careful judgement. So all in all I’m grateful to have reaching the finish line all in good shape.

“This has been the longest ultra-distance competition I have completed so far, building up to events of up to double this distance, and eventually my biggest dream which is The Race Across America (about 4,800 km in 12 days for solo riders).

“I’m happy with my performance and despite not being in a full-on racing mode, I reckon the finishing time will set a fair challenge to those who would attempt to improve on it. Time was not my biggest motivator; I looked after my body well … I have no sunburn or blisters on the lips or saddle sores, just a bit of fatigue.

“After a few days of rest, I’ll resume training. I’m looking forward to taking on the Windhoek Pedal Power Series time-trials on the road bike again, starting on Sunday.”

Record comparison

Although differences in distance and race conditions make a direct comparison difficult, Coetzee maintained an overall quicker progress than Alex Harris’s 2020 record ride over a somewhat longer 2,150 km), completed in nine days 22 hours.

At the time, Harris beat the previous record by over 7 hours, overcoming sleep deprivation and extremely high temperatures.

Coetzee is the record holder in The Munga (about 1,100 km from Bloemfontein to Wellington in 47 hours 37 minutes in 2023).

On Monday night, he finished 280 kilometres in front of the rest of the field.

• By yesterday afternoon, another hardened Namibian ultra-distance rider, Pierre Lambert (on 1,921 km), was placed third behind South Africa's Zane de Decker with the second podium position up for grabs. Both had their share of bad luck on route as well, while Lambert showed particular strong spirit after recovering from a broken collar bone in a fall shortly before the end of the Race Around Rwanda late last year.

The cut-off time to complete the RASA is 15 days.