Bassingthwaighte rocks the rut

THE highly competitive Rock and Rut XC Series, breeding ground for Namibian mountain-bike champions, got off to a flying start on Saturday when more than 200 riders of all ages lined up at the starting grid for the first of six championship events on the 2012 calendar.

When the dust had settled after the beginners and junior classes, all eyes were focused on Namibia’s three elite men riders, Marc Bassingthwaighte, Mannie Heymans and Heinrich Köhne. The trio will also represent the country at the All-Africa Championships in Mauritius from May 4 to 6.However on Saturday there was no love lost between them when they came out of the starting blocks with blazing guns in a relentless race of six laps to the finishing line of the demanding route.Bassingthwaighte showed right from the start why he has already qualified for the Olympic Games later this year by opening up a substantial gab between himself and Köhne, with Heymans in a not too distant third spot. On the third lap Heymans found himself in second place after the flying Köhne punctured his front wheel. Köhne inflated the wheel and did not lose third place while going like the clappers, but to no avail as Bassingthwaighte won comfortably with Heymans in second place.In the elite women’s category Namibia’s other Olympic Games qualifier, Vera Adrian, once again showed her class and skill and led the four-lap race from start to finish. She also won the Namibian National Road Championships earlier this year and is in superb form.