Namibia’s stature as a leading cycling nation in Africa has been underlined by the fact that it will host the inaugural Africa Gravel Championships in August this year.
Besides that, Namibia will host several other international events during 2025, while the Namibia Cycling Federation has also released a calendar jampacked with activities throughout the year.
The Confederation of African Cycling (CAC) last month announced that Namibia will host the Africa Gravel Championships when it issued its calendar for 2025, and yesterday the president of the NCF, Tauko Shilongo confirmed the news.
“It’s quite huge for Namibia and it shows that Namibian cycling is making waves internationally,” he said.
“It will be accredited by CAC as well as the UCI (International Cycling Federation), with the result that we can expect top cyclists to compete, who will be out to get international points,” he added.
Gravel racing is one of the fastest growing cycling disciplines in the world and last October, Namibia hosted its first National Gravel Championships, the Khomas100, sponsored by Hollard Namibia, to much acclaim, when more than 400 cyclists competed over a distance of about 140km from Windhoek to Gross Barmen, through the Khomas Hochland.
Alex Miller and Vera Looser became the inaugural national champions and with the sound organisation and professional marketing of the event, it has now been elevated to a higher, continental, ranking.
Besides that, Namibia will host two mountain bike cross country events on 12 April and 31 May that will form part of the Africa Continental XCO series, as well as the UCI Class 1 Junior Series, with the result that top international cyclists can also be expected to compete.
Namibia’s premier cycling road race, the Pupkewitz Megabuild Tour de Windhoek, has also received official recognition from CAC and UCI, who will for the first time officially accredit the women’s Tour de Windhoek.
“It will be the first time that a Namibian tour will receive international accreditation from UCI with the result that top international teams can be expected to participate. We are also expecting strong male teams, but it’s just the women’s tour that will receive UCI accreditation and UCI ranking points,” Shilongo said.
Besides that, the NCF has announced numerous other events that will form part of this year’s cycling calendar.
The Nedbank Windhoek Pedal Power road race series already kicked off last Sunday with the first leg at Teufels Schlucht, while two more legs are scheduled for January.
The Nedbank National Road Race and Individual Time Trial Championships will be held in February, while the Nedbank Cycle Challenge reaches a special milestone this year when the 40th edition will be held on 13 April.
The Nedbank WPP series continues through to May when the sixth and final leg takes place at the Tony Rust Race Track, while the Gravel & Dirt MTB series, sponsored by Hollard Namibia, will commence in March with the Vegas MTB Challenge.
The Rock & Rut MTB series starts in April and will continue through to August, while the FNB MTB Schools League will continue with events in Windhoek, Swakopmund and Stampriet throughout the year.
The Namibian MTB Cross Country Championships will be held in July, while the Namibian MTB Marathon Championships is planned for October.
The Namibian Cycle Classic will once again take place in October, while the cycling calandar will once again conclude with the internationally renowened Nedbank Desert Dash on 5 December.
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