Vera Looser retained the women’s Nedbank National Road Cycling Championships title, while Tristan de Lange was crowned the new men’s national champion after impressive rides in their respective categories on Sunday.

The race saw elite male riders covering a 139-kilometre (km) route, while their female counterparts covered 115km on loops that were on the C26 Kupferberg road and the A1 road behind Cimbabasia in Windhoek.

De Lange, who finished in second place in 2020 and 2021, won the national title for the first time after beating defending champion Drikus Coetzee to the line.

The two riders broke away from a peloton in the last stages of the ride and created a gap of over a minute as De Lange pipped Coetzee to the line on a photo finish.

Ingram Cuff finished third in the elite men’s category, which saw the likes of Hugo Hahn and Xavier Papo having an off day in the office.

In the Elite Women’s category, Looser, who finished third in the Individual Time Trial (ITT) category on Friday, retained the national title on Sunday for the eighth year in a row when she finished the race over 30 seconds ahead of 2023 ITT champion, Melissa Hinz, who came second and Anri Krugel who took the last podium place.

Speaking to Nampa after crossing the finish line, De Lange said it felt good to be crowned national champion.

“I have stepped out of the professional cycling scene but riding alongside Drikus (Coetzee) is always fun as we keep each other accountable for whatever happened in the race and despite it being a bit windy today I enjoyed the race,” he said.

Meanwhile, Namibian international cyclist, Looser, told Nampa that she is always honoured to compete at home.

“Today I had a great ride as the competition was good. I did not have the leg to ride the way I wanted but I decided to push on the last lap. I was happy to see Melissa (Hinz) following, which allowed us to work well together in the last lap,” she said.

(NAMPA)

Source: The Namibian Press Agency