Namibian cyclists at SA race

THE annual Eric van Enter provincial school cycling competition takes place from today, July until Saturday at the Gariep Dam in the Free State.

This is the 12th time that a team from Namibia will compete against school children from all the different provinces of South Africa. The Windhoek Pedal Power club has selected a team of 22 young cyclists who will be participating in the different age categories for girls and boys.They will compete in the under-10, under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18 categories.The race consists of five stages, which include an individual and a team time trial, a road race, a hill climb as well as a criterium.The cyclists have been training hard since April under the experienced trainer Hella Rust and are expected to set out with great enthusiasm to fight for the Eric van Enter memorial trophy, which goes to the province that collects the most points.Most important will be the invaluable experience and exposure gained at this level, which in the past has brought well-known Namibian cyclists like Mannie Heymans, Eric Hoffman, Dan Craven, Marc Bassingthwaighte and many others to the fore, some of whom went on to race professionally.The Windhoek Pedal Power club has selected a team of 22 young cyclists who will be participating in the different age categories for girls and boys.They will compete in the under-10, under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18 categories.The race consists of five stages, which include an individual and a team time trial, a road race, a hill climb as well as a criterium.The cyclists have been training hard since April under the experienced trainer Hella Rust and are expected to set out with great enthusiasm to fight for the Eric van Enter memorial trophy, which goes to the province that collects the most points.Most important will be the invaluable experience and exposure gained at this level, which in the past has brought well-known Namibian cyclists like Mannie Heymans, Eric Hoffman, Dan Craven, Marc Bassingthwaighte and many others to the fore, some of whom went on to race professionally.