The Namibian Cycling Federation will host its inaugural bicycle motocross (BMX) championships at its newly constructed track at Outapi in the Omusati Region next week.

The Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) Namibia and National BMX finals are slated for 04 and 05 November 2022.

In an interview with Nampa on Wednesday, Namibian Cycling Federation (NCF) president, Axel Theissen, said hosting the championship in Outapi is part of NCF’s grassroots development objectives.

“We received funding and support from the International Cycling Union (UCI) for the first time along with other sponsors RMB and LeMa Events from their 2019 Desert Dash sponsorship. We decided to construct a BMX track on a piece of land that was leased to us by the Outapi Town council,” he said.

The NCF president added that the town of Outapi has a ‘Kids on Bike’ centre where over 90 children ride their bikes, therefore it was best for the NCF to build a centre in that region.

“The track is situated centrally in the town of Outapi and between two schools. We want to decentralise cycling and not only focus all our efforts on the capital,” said Theissen, who added that next year’s mountain bike cross-country champs will be held at the coast.

He further added that the newly built track in Outapi is about 250 metres long with a start ramp, four straights, three corners and obstacles.

“The track is constructed as much as possible in terms of UCI BMX track standards. The NCF appointed Andjamba Construction, a local Outapi contractor. We also positioned the track to incorporate trees (for shade and features), no tree was taken out from the track,” he said.

The NCF president said the Outapi BMX track will be inaugurated on Friday, 04 November 2022 and will host its first race during the 2022 RMB BMX National finals the subsequent day.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency