Namibian junior cyclists excel at Eric von Enter

A Namibian junior cycling team ended fourth out of 13 provincial teams at the South African Interprovincial Championships held in Gariep Dam, Free State, from July 6 to 9.

The four Namibian girls ended second in their competition while the 20 boys had to fight it out in fierce competition. This was the 12th time that a team from Namibia competed against schools from different provinces of South Africa.The Windhoek Pedal Power cycle club had selected a team of 24 young cyclists who participated in the different age categories of girls and boys under 10, 12, 14, 16 and juniors.The race consisted of four stages, which included a team time trial, a road race, a hill climb as well as a criterium.Points are given to the first four places in each stage and age group.The province with the most points emerged as the winner.Sponsors who made the trip possible are Pasta Namibia, African Marketing and Namibia Beverages.Meanwhile, junior mountain bike riders Ermin van Wyk and Heletjé van Staden are tipped to cross the finish line first in the Engen Hochland National Mountain Bike Marathon Championships in Windhoek this Saturday.Van Wyk and Van Staden are currently riding the crest of the wave and are expected to win the overall competitions as well as their age categories.Van Wyk, who ended second in the junior race in 2004 behind Arno Viljoen, is currently the top mountain biker around and has won one leg of the ongoing Pepsi Mountain Bike Series.Van Staden has been the queen of the road and mountain biking since 2003 and has won most local and international competitions in which she raced.She is also the defending champion and is expected to retain her title.Mountain bikers have two trails to choose from – either a 25-kilometre fun ride for non-racers or a 50-km marathon championship race with seven age categories.-NampaThis was the 12th time that a team from Namibia competed against schools from different provinces of South Africa.The Windhoek Pedal Power cycle club had selected a team of 24 young cyclists who participated in the different age categories of girls and boys under 10, 12, 14, 16 and juniors.The race consisted of four stages, which included a team time trial, a road race, a hill climb as well as a criterium.Points are given to the first four places in each stage and age group.The province with the most points emerged as the winner.Sponsors who made the trip possible are Pasta Namibia, African Marketing and Namibia Beverages.Meanwhile, junior mountain bike riders Ermin van Wyk and Heletjé van Staden are tipped to cross the finish line first in the Engen Hochland National Mountain Bike Marathon Championships in Windhoek this Saturday.Van Wyk and Van Staden are currently riding the crest of the wave and are expected to win the overall competitions as well as their age categories.Van Wyk, who ended second in the junior race in 2004 behind Arno Viljoen, is currently the top mountain biker around and has won one leg of the ongoing Pepsi Mountain Bike Series.Van Staden has been the queen of the road and mountain biking since 2003 and has won most local and international competitions in which she raced.She is also the defending champion and is expected to retain her title.Mountain bikers have two trails to choose from – either a 25-kilometre fun ride for non-racers or a 50-km marathon championship race with seven age categories.-Nampa