ERIK Hoffmann won the Namibian Cycle Classic yesterday when he beat veteran Mannie Heymans in a sprint to the line.
Hoffmann finished the 100km category in a time of 2:30:47, finishing one second ahead of Heymans, while Tjipe Murangi finished nearly five minutes behind in third place. Close to 1 100 cyclists of all ages entered the Namibian Cycle Classic, which took place for the tenth consecutive year. For the first time, cyclists could enter four different categories, namely the 20km, 30km, 65km and 100km events. Hoffmann, who has been cycling as a solo rider without a team in Germany this year, returned to Namibia about a week ago in preparation for the African Cycling Championships which take place in Windhoek at the beginning of November. As part of his preparation he competed in the four-stage Tour de Windhoek from Wednesday to Saturday, which he comfortably won, leading from start to finish. In yesterday’s Cycle Classic Hoffmann made an early break, along with Nick du Plessis after about 15 km at the Van Eck Power Station. On the Brakwater Service Road they had built up a lead of about 40 seconds before Hoffmann also dropped Du Plessis, as he surged ahead after about 40 km.By the time he hit the Otjomuise Road in Hakahana, Hoffmann had built up a lead of more than a minute, but the 38-year-old Heymans and 19-year-old Heiko Redecker gave chase and started to close the gap. They caught up with Hoffmann after about 45 km and stepped up the pace, and when they reached the halfway stage of the race, entering the Daan Viljoen road, they had built up a lead of more than three minutes on the chasing peleton. The leading pack soon broke up as the steep Daan Viljoen hills started to take their toll and the evergreen Heymans pulled away in the front, building up a 40-second lead on Hoffmann, while Redecker dropped further back. Hoffmann however once again caught up with Heymans after 70 km at the turnaround point at Matchless Mine, while Redecker dropped further back and was joined by the leading peleton which included Tjipe Murangi and Ermin van Wyk, veteran Mike Swanepoel and junior riders Stefan Marggraff, Till Drobisch and Jaco van Zyl. By now Hoffmann and Heymans were way out in front and they cycled together till the end, where Hoffmann beat Heymans in a sprint to the line.Hoffmann said he was happy to be back and to win the race. ‘It is really nice to be back in Namibia. I haven’t been back for quite some time so I really enjoyed it. Mannie and I agreed that we would stay together, because of the strong east wind, to make it easier for us, and on the final sprint I had the stronger legs. I’m really pleased to have won the Namibian Cycle Classic,’ he said. The 15-year-old Vera Adrian put in a great performance to win the women’s 100km race in 2:55:17. She finished 23rd overall and more than 10 minutes ahead of the second placed woman Sophia Snyman (3:06:35), while Michaela Milz came third in 3:10:52.Gordon Pieters and Angelique Rall won the men and women’s 65km categories; Fiffy Kashululu and Imke Jagau won the men and women’s 30km categories; and Malte Holch and Isami Nagel won the men and women’s 20km categories. www.namibiasport.com.na
