THE cream of Africa’s mountain bike riders converge at the IJG Trails at Farm Windhoek this weekend for the African Continental Mountain Bike Championships
A total of 12 African countries will be battling it out for honours at the event which will also serve as a qualifier for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
South Africa, which has sent the largest contingent of 46 riders will be the hot favourites in all of the race categories, while some of the other nations competing include Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, eSwatini, Mauritius, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Morocco.
The final countries that will qualify for the Olympics will only be determined later this year after the Mountain Bike World Cup series is concluded, but South Africa will most probably qualify via their world ranking amongst the top 50 nations in the world. The other nations will therefore be battling it out for the second spot behind South Africa in both the elite male and female categories at the African Championships for a place at the Olympics.
Last weekend South African riders dominated proceedings at the Nedbank Cross Country UCI race which served as a warm up event for the African Championships, while they will be even stronger this weekend with several more of their top riders having arrived in Windhoek on Thursday.
They include the defending African champion Alan Hatherly, who also won the u23 World Cross Country Championships last year; Matt Beers, who finished seventh overall with Hatherly at this year’s Cape Epic, while they were also the first African pair over the line; Julian Jessop and Arno du Toit who were the third African duo at the Cape Epic; and Philip Buys who won a stage at the Cape Epic.
Wessel Botha dominated the Elite Men’s race last weekend, finishing nearly two minutes ahead of compatriot Julian Jessop, while another South African, Stuart Marais came third.
They were followed by compatriot Marc Fourie, while Namibia’s Alex Miller was the first non-South African, finishing fifth overall. Miller, however, suffered a puncture on the first lap and had to come from last position, but he launched a great comeback, passing 24 riders to eventually finish fifth.
Miller yesterday said he was looking forward to the race.
“My performance last Saturday gave me a lot of confidence and if I look at my lap times, I think I can do well this weekend. My main goal is to qualify Namibia for the Olympic Games, and if I can finish amongst the top five riders I will be very happy,” he said.
Namibia’s other entrant in the Elite Men’s category is Xavier Papo, while Hugo Hahn and Dieter Koen will compete in the junior men’s category.
In the Elite Women’s category, South Africa’s Mariska Strauss will be the favourite after she posted a comfortable victory last weekend, finishing nearly a minute ahead of compatriot Cherie Redecker, while Namibia’s Michelle Vorster came third more than three minutes behind.
“It’s a cross country race, so anything can happen, but if I ride within limits I think I’ll have a good chance of winning the gold medal,” Strauss said on Thursday.
Strauss has won the African title twice before in 2014 and 2016, while Vorster won in 2017 and Redecker last year.
Vorster admitted that she felt under pressure on her home turf.
“I’ll be under pressure riding on home ground, but the adrenalin will be good and I’m looking forward to a good performance,” she said.
Vorster had a bad fall last weekend, but fortunately she was not seriously injured.
“I took a fall at Zombi Drop, but I was so pumped up that it was only after the race that it hit me when I couldn’t breathe. I’m still a bit battered and bruised, but Im ready for Saturday,” she said.
Cindy Rowland will represent Namibia in the junior women’s category.
The Elite Women’s race will start at 12h15 on Saturday at the IJG Trails at Farm Windhoek, with the u23 Women starting at 12h17, the u23 Men at 14h15 and the Elite Men at 16h15.
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