Craven wins FNB Desert Dash

DAN Craven won the solo category of the 2012 FNB Desert Dash when he completed the 340km event in a time of 14 hours 54 minutes 33 seconds.

More than 500 riders entered the endurance mountain bike event which saw the participants cycling from Windhoek on Friday afternoon, through the Khomas Hochland down to Swakopmund at the coast. Craven was the first solo cyclist, arriving in Swakopmund at about quarter to six on Saturday morning. Uwe Schmidt of South Africa came second in 15:21:34, while another South African, Henning van Wyk came third in 16:02:59. Craven said he was happy with the result, especially since he had several punctures along the way. ‘I had a lot of problems with my tyre and punctured it seven times. I had to pump it up several times and eventually Mannie (Heymans) put a new tyre on at a service point. That tyre was a bad shopping choice,’ he said after the ride. ‘I did not train too much, so I am pleasantly surprised and I did not expect to perform like this,’ he added. Of the 103 solo riders who entered the FNB Desert Dash, only 55 managed to complete it. Liesbet Kristafor was the first solo female rider in a time of 19:43:34, with Maritza Terblanche coming second in 21:31:10 and Bertha Theron third in 22:09:56. The ‘Toshiba Incredibles’ team of Ingram Cuff and Thorsten Kreft were the overall winners of the Two-Man category in a time of 15:42:16. The ‘Dust Busters’ team of Gustaf Bauer and Fana Lambert came second in 16:09:47, while the ‘Kia Duo’ team of Heiko Redecker and Cherie Vale came third in 16:16:47. The overall winner of the Four-Man category was the ‘Methealth NMC’ team of Jerneil Barth, Michael Pretorius, Martin Fryer and Charl Fouche, who completed the event in 14:54:42. The ‘Paarl Media Dust Free’ team of Chris Smit, Michael Ehret, Willie Engelbrecht and Christoff Botha came second in 15:29:09, while the ‘WIA 1’ team of Herman Marx, Deon Klopper, Jac Louis van Wyk and Hennie Scheepers came third in 16:17:01. It was the eighth consecutive year that the Desert Dash had taken place and the seventh year that FNB has been the main sponsor. This year’s event drew close to 300 entrants from Namibia and more than 150 riders from South Africa. There were also entrants from other countries like the United States, Australia, Germany, Botswana, Canada, Peru, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. The event also included South African celebrities like the former Springbok rugby player Victor Matfield and the visually impaired motivational speaker Hein Wagner.