Cyclist do Namibia proud

NAMIBIAN cyclists Dan Craven and Jacques Celliers did their country proud with top performances in the Time Trial competition at the B World Championships in Cape Town on Friday.

In almost windless clear weather conditions the two riders provided a solid performance despite both of them indicating afterwards that they did not hit their “sweet spot” during the event. Craven finished 7th with Celliers finishing 13th against 56 starters in the time trial competition.The 28.6km course near Wellington in the Cape was a fair undulating circuit, which required top form with judicious gear selection.At the 2003 B World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland, Mannie Heymans finished 9th.Given that the competition standard has clearly risen since then, Dan Craven’s 7th place represents an improvement over the last B World Championships.Craven was the second placed African rider after Chris Froome of Kenya who finished second.The purpose of the B World Championships is to afford countries that would not normally qualify for the normal World Championships an opportunity to compete and qualify for the Olympic Games.The time trial event is not an Olympic qualifier.Team management has been informed by the Confederation of African Cycling that the time trial competition at the All Africa Games in Algiers has been cancelled.This is disappointing news, as the time trial competition is the event where cycling obtained medals in the past at the Africa Games and African Championships (Mannie Heymans, Erik Hoffmann, Dan Craven) and was the event that Namibia was focusing on for medal chances.The only cycling competition remaining at the All Africa Games is the road race.Craven finished 7th with Celliers finishing 13th against 56 starters in the time trial competition.The 28.6km course near Wellington in the Cape was a fair undulating circuit, which required top form with judicious gear selection.At the 2003 B World Championships in Aigle, Switzerland, Mannie Heymans finished 9th.Given that the competition standard has clearly risen since then, Dan Craven’s 7th place represents an improvement over the last B World Championships.Craven was the second placed African rider after Chris Froome of Kenya who finished second.The purpose of the B World Championships is to afford countries that would not normally qualify for the normal World Championships an opportunity to compete and qualify for the Olympic Games.The time trial event is not an Olympic qualifier.Team management has been informed by the Confederation of African Cycling that the time trial competition at the All Africa Games in Algiers has been cancelled.This is disappointing news, as the time trial competition is the event where cycling obtained medals in the past at the Africa Games and African Championships (Mannie Heymans, Erik Hoffmann, Dan Craven) and was the event that Namibia was focusing on for medal chances.The only cycling competition remaining at the All Africa Games is the road race.