Vera Looser and Drikus Coetzee retained the Nedbank National Road Cycling Championships in Windhoek, after dominating their respective races on Sunday.

The race saw elite male riders covering a 154-kilometre (km) route, while their female counterparts covered 84km on loops that were out of town and in the centre of town.

Coetzee, who won the national title for the first time in 2021, broke away from a peloton of eight riders after 70km in the race and created a gap of over two minutes when he crossed the line to be crowned national champion for the second time in a row.

He beat Hugo Hahn who was second and 2021 National Individual Time Trial (ITT) champion Jean-Paul Burger who came third just ahead of the chasing pack.

In the Elite Women’s category, Looser, who was crowned champion in the ITT category for the seventh time on Friday, retained the national title on Sunday for eight years in a row but the 2022 title will be her ninth national title. She finished off the race over one minute and 30 seconds ahead of the chasing pack.

Speaking to Nampa after crossing the finish line, Coetzee said it felt good to be crowned national champion once again.

“Today’s route was challenging but I felt I had the legs and kept my cool until I got an opportunity to attack and nobody responded. I hope this win will show the national selectors that I have the potential to represent my country at the Commonwealth Games this year,” he said.

Looser told Nampa that she is always honoured to represent her country internationally and she is hopeful of qualifying for the Commonwealth Games, where she hopes to do better.

“Today I had a great ride as the competition was tough but I managed to break away from everyone with two loops to go and I am once again proud to be crowned a national champion,” she said.

Courtney Liebenberg finished second in the elite women’s category, while Melissa Hinz came third.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency