Tour de Limpopo beckons
Six Namibian cyclists will show their mettle in the Tour de Limpopo, which takes place later this month.
The NCCS Pro Cycling team is ready to compete in the inaugural four-day 2018 Tour de Limpopo in South Africa from 22 to 26 April.
Six cyclists from Namibia will take part in a race, which will be held in stages - the International Cycling Union (UCI) Africa Tour 2.2 stage elite race and a veteran's tour that will follow the same routes as the elite race.
The race is expected to start in the provincial capital of Polokwane, heading east to the town of Tzaneen, covering a total distance of 427.6km, with big climbs expected during the stages.
Jacob Kiyola, NCCS Pro Cycling's principal and communications manager, told Nampa on Tuesday that competing in the race will help their riders gain the much-needed experience of international competitions, as well as allow them to accumulate UCI points, which will help them when qualifying for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
“We have been invited to the Tour de Limpopo by the organisers and this will be our first international tour for this year. As a team, we want to see how well we can compete with the best teams in South Africa,” Kiyola said.
He added they have assembled a team of riders from their stable and other teams, because they want to expose them to better competition, which will help them grow.
“Our goal while in Limpopo is to at least finish in the top five, if not three, in the team events,” he said, adding he is also hoping to have some of their riders in the top ten of the individual riders' general classification rankings.
NCCS Pro Cycling co-owner and manager, Ebben-Ezer Iita, said the level of cycling in Namibia is at a lower level than in South Africa, but their aim is to build a strong team that will, in the years to come, represent the country at international competitions.
“If you look at our riders, like the upcoming ones, you can see they have the talent but (they) lack the experience and we want to expose all these young athletes to this international competition so they can gain more experience,” said Iita.
He added the team will depart on 19 April by road to enable them to arrive early and do some training before the competition. He added they have learned from the lessons of yesteryear when they travelled to competitions outside the country and their riders did not have enough time to train before the competition.
The team is Chipopeni Kashululu (captain), Jafet Amukushu, Marckernzy Eiseb, Xavier Renzo Papo, Danzel Dekoe and Gouws Wynandt.
NAMPA
Six cyclists from Namibia will take part in a race, which will be held in stages - the International Cycling Union (UCI) Africa Tour 2.2 stage elite race and a veteran's tour that will follow the same routes as the elite race.
The race is expected to start in the provincial capital of Polokwane, heading east to the town of Tzaneen, covering a total distance of 427.6km, with big climbs expected during the stages.
Jacob Kiyola, NCCS Pro Cycling's principal and communications manager, told Nampa on Tuesday that competing in the race will help their riders gain the much-needed experience of international competitions, as well as allow them to accumulate UCI points, which will help them when qualifying for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
“We have been invited to the Tour de Limpopo by the organisers and this will be our first international tour for this year. As a team, we want to see how well we can compete with the best teams in South Africa,” Kiyola said.
He added they have assembled a team of riders from their stable and other teams, because they want to expose them to better competition, which will help them grow.
“Our goal while in Limpopo is to at least finish in the top five, if not three, in the team events,” he said, adding he is also hoping to have some of their riders in the top ten of the individual riders' general classification rankings.
NCCS Pro Cycling co-owner and manager, Ebben-Ezer Iita, said the level of cycling in Namibia is at a lower level than in South Africa, but their aim is to build a strong team that will, in the years to come, represent the country at international competitions.
“If you look at our riders, like the upcoming ones, you can see they have the talent but (they) lack the experience and we want to expose all these young athletes to this international competition so they can gain more experience,” said Iita.
He added the team will depart on 19 April by road to enable them to arrive early and do some training before the competition. He added they have learned from the lessons of yesteryear when they travelled to competitions outside the country and their riders did not have enough time to train before the competition.
The team is Chipopeni Kashululu (captain), Jafet Amukushu, Marckernzy Eiseb, Xavier Renzo Papo, Danzel Dekoe and Gouws Wynandt.
NAMPA
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