Desert Dash solo race wide open 

One of Namibia’s leading international sporting events, the Nedbank Desert Dash starts tomorrow with more than 1 000 cyclists from across the world coming to test their endurance and mental strength in the unique Namibian landscape.

The Dash, which is the world’s longest single-stage race, starts at 14h00 at the Grove Mall in Windhoek tomorrow and will take the cyclists over the Kuperfberg Pass and the Khomas Hochland, down through the Namib Desert and to the coast before the finish at Swakopmund’s Platz Am Meer on Saturday morning. 

Cyclists will compete in various categories ranging from solo, to two and four-person teams for men, women and mixed categories, while there will also be awards for the Half-Dash Marathon. 

The solo race, though, will be the most keenly contested with a new champion set to be crowned in Konny Looser’s absence.

Looser dominated the event over the past decade, winning for six years in a row and eight times in total, while also signing off with a win last year when he beat Drikus Coetzee in a sprint to the line in just over 15 hours. 

In Looser’s absence, Coetzee will be one of the favourites to win the title although he can expect a tough challenge from Namibian compatriot Martin Freyer.

Coetzee has excelled in ultra long distance events in recent years, winning the Desert Dash in 2022, while he won the 1 000km Big Munga in South Africa in record time in 2023 and then defended it the next year. 

This year he also won the Munga Grit Le Dur over 437km where Freyer came third, while he won the men’s 19-34 year category at the Gravel Burn, a 800km seven-day stage race in Knysna at the end of October.

Freyer, however, also excelled at the Gravel Burn, competing against stronger opposition in the elite men’s category, where he came 13th overall, in 20 hours 5 minutes 52 seconds, which was nearly two hours faster than Coetzee’s time of 21:59:46. 

Besides Coetzee and Freyer, Germany’s Andreas Seewald is also a strong contender. He came second in the 2016 Desert Dash behind Looser, but went on to win the UCI MTB Martathon World Championship in 2021, while he won the European championships in 2021 and 2025. 

National cycling coach Hans du Toit also named some other title contenders.

“Seewald is the current European champion and he is a definite title contender. Kevin Benkenstein, who is a very experienced long distance rider and has done well in the Munga previously, and Jaco van Dyk from South Africa are also strong contenders. 

“And then we will have Martin up against Drikus – it will be very interesting to see how that develops. I’m definitely not picking between the two of them, I’m just hoping that one of them can take it home for us. Martin is in very good shape after his results at Gravel Burn where he raced against professional athletes and did very well,” he said. 

Du Toit, meanwhile, recently received international recognition when he was appointed to the UCI mountain bike commission.

“We are six members from around the world and have a president. It’s more of an advisory body so we look at rules and regulations and what is good for the sport and not. I think it’s great for Namibia and it’s great for Africa to have someone on that board,” he said. 

“Fom my side, all I want to do is create awareness for African cycling and especially it’s development in Africa. If I can do anything to help and improve that then I’ve done something in my life I can be proud of,” he added. 

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