Top riders for African cycling

By: CORRY IHUHUA

THE Namibian Cycling Federation has announced strong squads that will represent Namibia at the upcoming African Continental Road Cycling Championships in Windhoek next month.

Namibia has two teams in the championships. Sixteen other countries will participate in this high-profile event that will take place on Namibian soil for the first time.
Namibia is currently the defending champion and excitement is high that the two strong squads announced will do well.
The countries who will make their way to the event scheduled from November 4 to 8 are Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, San Tome & Principe, Seychelles, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Yesterday, a national team and a development team were announced at the Namibia Sport Commission.
The national team consists of seasoned riders Erik Hoffmann, Mannie Heymans, Lotto Petrus, Jacques Celliers, Victor Krohne, Heinrich Kohne, Heiko Redecker, Tjipe Murangi and Christo Swarts.
The development team consist of Ingram Cuff, Ermin van Wyk and Damien Agnew.
Both the national team and the development team will enter in the Road Race and the Team Trial categories, while three national team riders will compete in the Individual Time Trial. These riders are Hoffmann, Celliers and Redecker.
The only female Namibian rider is Carmen Bassingthwaighte, who will take on her counterparts both the Road Race and the Individual Time Trial.
 
CRAVEN ABSENT

Namibia’s top rider Dan Craven will miss the championships after he broke his collarbone during the Amashoshova Road Race in South Africa last Sunday.
The Namibian crashed metres before the finish line after one of the television motorbikes accidentally drove in front of him.
This caused a bunch of other cyclists to crash, including the South African top rider, Jamie Ball, who will also be missed during the championships.
In the absence of Craven, who will be out for a few months, the Namibian field can rely on the experience of Heymans, Hoffmann and Celliers, who are all credible cyclists with proven track records.
Heymans is the only cyclist who has represented Namibia at three Olympic Games, while he has been racing for over ten years on the European and African circuits.
Hoffmann and Celliers are equally competitive, while younger riders such as Lotto, Khrone, Redecker and Swarts will be expected to complement the senior riders.
The Team Time Trial for the elite men will be held on November 4.
Both the Men and Women Individual Time Trials will be held on November 6, while both Road Races for men and women will be held on November 8, the last day of the race.
The Namibian will carry more information on the times and routes of the event for the spectators ahead of the competition.
corry@namibian.com.na

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