Namibia’s Drikus Coetzee and South Africa’s Yolande de Villiers were crowned winners of the 18th edition of the Nedbank Desert Dash Saturday morning.

The 397 kilometre (km) race started at the Grove Mall in Windhoek on Friday and finished at Platz am Meer in Swakopmund.

The solo category saw Coetzee beating Swiss rider Konny Looser by over 21 minutes. Coetzee finished the ride in 15 hours, 17 minutes and 09 seconds.

The third position was occupied by Rick Steffen, who was 28 minutes behind Coetzee in the solo category.

Meanwhile, the women’s category was won by De Villiers in a time of 17 hours, 50 minutes and 10 seconds.

In an interview, Coetzee said he was happy to win the race after a long time trying to be top of the podium.

“I pushed from the start with the goal of winning the race, and it’s a great relief for me to win this race after having a great year of cycling. This is the cherry on top of the cake for me as a cyclist,” he said, adding that winning the Desert Dash in his home of Swakopmund makes the win special as all his family members were there to witness it.

Meanwhile Looser, who has won the Desert Dash six times, said he had a tough ride but was happy to cross the finish line.

“I was not well a week before the race, I had flu and was bedridden. I almost pulled out but I told myself to just ride, I struggled with pains midway through the race and almost gave up when the headwind became too much, but I continued pushing to just cross the line,” he said.

The male two-person team category saw Alex Miller defending the title he won last year with a new teammat, South African rider Marc Pritzen, while Hollard’s four-person team of Andre Vermeulen, CP van Wyk, Ingram Cudd and Christo Swartz retained the four-person male trophy.

The mixed team double category was won by Anri Krugel and Clinton Hilfiker.

Speaking to the media after the race, Miller and Pritzen said they had a good race.

“I pushed hard during the first stage of the race, but my teammate also did well as we were not far from the solo winners who started the race 30 minutes earlier than those who rode in teams,” Miller said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency