Drikus and Nina tame the Dash
Cycling
Cyclists Drikus Coetzee and Nina Holtrup emerged victorious at the 2025 Nedbank Desert Dash held at the weekend, over a gruelling 401 kilometres from Windhoek to Swakopmund.
It was Coetzee’s second Desert Dash victory after having won ahead of Konny Looser back in 2022.
Holtrup on the other hand entered the Desert Dash history books, winning the women’s solo race for the first time in her career, overcoming the ever determined challenge of Anri Greeff.
Coetzee said he was thrilled to have won the prestigious race for the second time. The champion broke away from the pack very early in the race and again displayed his fierce determination.
Germany’s reigning UCI Cross-Country Marathon world champion Andreas Seewald however had enough in the tank to hunt Coetzee down.
The 34-year-old German took over the lead, but in the midnight hours with just over 80 kilometres left towards the finish, he saw an obstacle in the road too late and unsuccessfully tried to jump over it, which saw him “destroy” his back wheel and derailleur.
This misfortune swung the scale back in favour of Coetzee, who pointed out that the race is never over until it is over.
“I broke away in the first 10 km of the race and decided to go for it, which is just my style. It was my strategy to hurt the legs of the other contenders, but I got caught after about 120 km,” Coetzee narrated.
The Namibian, 32, said he then decided to slow down and work with a few riders who were just two minutes behind him.
“I realized it was just not worth it for me trying to push on alone, because that would put me in a risky position,” Coetzee said.
“Andreas and I worked very well together and when we got to about the 240 mark, there was one place I just could not go through and Andreas got the gap there.”
Coetzee said he briefly had some difficulties with his light pointing sideways into the darkness.
“I quickly stopped and fixed that and the chase was on again, because I never backed down.
“I am proud of my ride and proud of what I did today, considering all the challenges,” the champion said.
He added that it was not exactly the way he would have liked to win, refering to his main competitor’s unfortunate incident.
“As a sportsman I sincerely feel for Andreas, but it is sports and I myself have had misfortunes in the past too.”
The German cyclist told Network Sports Hub he will return after being so close to contesting the overall victory.
Nine years ago, Seewald finished second behind Konny Looser, but he remains as determined as ever to return and win the Dash.
A first for Holtrup
The story of the women’s solo champion was different to that of the men’s solo winner.
Nina Holtrup, from Swakopmund, had initially struggled to breathe in the high altitude at the start of the race, but got into her rhythm later.
She had to chase down several competitors in order to claim her victory – not least the in-form Namibian national road cycling champion Anri Greeff, as well as 2024 Dash winner Belinda van Rhyn.
The 44-year-old Holtrup said: “I can’t describe the feeling. I struggled during stage one and I lost a lot of time, because altitude and heat is not for me, but I knew I had it in my legs from halfway to catch and overtake them one by one. I was constantly eating and drinking to keep my energy up.
Leading Results (Namibians, unless indicated)
Solo Men
1 Drikus Coetzee 14:13.32.
2 Jaques Hanekom 15:47.43.
3 Martin Freyer 15:47:45.43.
4 Ananias Ananias 15:54:41.
5 Nico Sterk (RSA) 16:03:57
Solo Women
1 Nina Holtrup 17:00.04.
2 Anri Greeff 17:08.22.
3 Yolande de Villiers (RSA) 17:33.11.
4 Belinda van Rhyn 18:23:53.
5 Helené Bam 18:36:17.
Two-person female winners: Food Lovers Market Ladies (Michelle Döman of RSA and Marissa Mouton of Namibia) 17:21:02.
Two-person male winners: Hollard Life (Danzel de Koe and Andre Vermeulen) 15:08:22.
Two-person mixed winners: The Commitments (Darien du Toit of RSA and JP du Toit of Namibia) 17:35:25.
It was Coetzee’s second Desert Dash victory after having won ahead of Konny Looser back in 2022.
Holtrup on the other hand entered the Desert Dash history books, winning the women’s solo race for the first time in her career, overcoming the ever determined challenge of Anri Greeff.
Coetzee said he was thrilled to have won the prestigious race for the second time. The champion broke away from the pack very early in the race and again displayed his fierce determination.
Germany’s reigning UCI Cross-Country Marathon world champion Andreas Seewald however had enough in the tank to hunt Coetzee down.
The 34-year-old German took over the lead, but in the midnight hours with just over 80 kilometres left towards the finish, he saw an obstacle in the road too late and unsuccessfully tried to jump over it, which saw him “destroy” his back wheel and derailleur.
This misfortune swung the scale back in favour of Coetzee, who pointed out that the race is never over until it is over.
“I broke away in the first 10 km of the race and decided to go for it, which is just my style. It was my strategy to hurt the legs of the other contenders, but I got caught after about 120 km,” Coetzee narrated.
The Namibian, 32, said he then decided to slow down and work with a few riders who were just two minutes behind him.
“I realized it was just not worth it for me trying to push on alone, because that would put me in a risky position,” Coetzee said.
“Andreas and I worked very well together and when we got to about the 240 mark, there was one place I just could not go through and Andreas got the gap there.”
Coetzee said he briefly had some difficulties with his light pointing sideways into the darkness.
“I quickly stopped and fixed that and the chase was on again, because I never backed down.
“I am proud of my ride and proud of what I did today, considering all the challenges,” the champion said.
He added that it was not exactly the way he would have liked to win, refering to his main competitor’s unfortunate incident.
“As a sportsman I sincerely feel for Andreas, but it is sports and I myself have had misfortunes in the past too.”
The German cyclist told Network Sports Hub he will return after being so close to contesting the overall victory.
Nine years ago, Seewald finished second behind Konny Looser, but he remains as determined as ever to return and win the Dash.
A first for Holtrup
The story of the women’s solo champion was different to that of the men’s solo winner.
Nina Holtrup, from Swakopmund, had initially struggled to breathe in the high altitude at the start of the race, but got into her rhythm later.
She had to chase down several competitors in order to claim her victory – not least the in-form Namibian national road cycling champion Anri Greeff, as well as 2024 Dash winner Belinda van Rhyn.
The 44-year-old Holtrup said: “I can’t describe the feeling. I struggled during stage one and I lost a lot of time, because altitude and heat is not for me, but I knew I had it in my legs from halfway to catch and overtake them one by one. I was constantly eating and drinking to keep my energy up.
Leading Results (Namibians, unless indicated)
Solo Men
1 Drikus Coetzee 14:13.32.
2 Jaques Hanekom 15:47.43.
3 Martin Freyer 15:47:45.43.
4 Ananias Ananias 15:54:41.
5 Nico Sterk (RSA) 16:03:57
Solo Women
1 Nina Holtrup 17:00.04.
2 Anri Greeff 17:08.22.
3 Yolande de Villiers (RSA) 17:33.11.
4 Belinda van Rhyn 18:23:53.
5 Helené Bam 18:36:17.
Two-person female winners: Food Lovers Market Ladies (Michelle Döman of RSA and Marissa Mouton of Namibia) 17:21:02.
Two-person male winners: Hollard Life (Danzel de Koe and Andre Vermeulen) 15:08:22.
Two-person mixed winners: The Commitments (Darien du Toit of RSA and JP du Toit of Namibia) 17:35:25.
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