Heiko Redecker won the Nedbank MTB Cycle Challenge, which doubled up as the inaugural Namibian Mountain Bike Marathon Championships on Saturday after a last minute sponsorship and a borrowed bike from Namibian Cycling Federation president Mannie Heymans.
Redecker, who studies at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, initially despaired of not making it to the championships after earlier approaches for sponsorships did not yield positive results. But last week he contacted Heymans, who agreed to pay his flight ticket from South Africa.
Redecker just arrived in Namibia on Thursday and Friday was given his cycling kit and a bike from Heymans, to represent Mannie’s Bike Mecca at the championships. Although the bike was a bit heavier than his normal bike, he took the lead from the start and got used to the bike as the race progressed.
“I like to control a race from the start in stead of sitting in the group, so I immediately went to the front with Heinrich Kohne. The bike was a bit heavier than my normal bike, but I got used to it as the race progressed and managed to drop Heinrich after about two thirds of the race,” he said.
Redecker’s travails were not over as he was involved in a crash after trying to swerve out for a cyclist doing the 35km race.
“I tried to pass a cyclist in the 35km category and took a tumble over my handlebars when I landed in a big hole on the side of the track. I just saw stars for a while, but the cyclist that I passed came to check on me – he must have been a doctor – and said I was fine to continue.”
By now Redecker was well ahead and despite the setback he went on to win the marathon by a huge margin, finishing nearly 20 minutes ahead of the second placed rider.
Redecker completed the 75km event in 3 hours 48 minutes 56 seconds, with Tjipe Murangi coming second in 4:07:51 while Kohne eventually finished third in 4:08:31. The 46-year-old Piet Swiegers came fourth overall in 4:11:34, while Pierre Knoetze was fifth overall in 4:14:37.
Redecker said he was thrilled to win the inaugural Namibian MTB Marathon Championships.
“It was a great race and I’m really happy to have won the inaugural Namibian Mountain Bike Marathon Championships. This victory will give me a boost and help me with my goals this year. I’m thinking about competing in the World MTB Marathon Championships in Pietermaritzburg in June while I also want to do some races on the World MTB Cross Country circuit. I also hope to make the Namibian team that will compete at the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
Sponsorship, or the lack thereof, is still a problem, but Redecker said he was working with Heymans to try and organise a sponsorship for the year. Meanwhile he said he hoped to remain in Namibia for the next two weeks to compete in upcoming events.
“I’d like to compete in the Nedbank Cycle Challenge next Sunday and the National Cycling Championships the following weekend so I’ll see if I can stay longer in Namibia,” he said.
The Nedbank MTB Cycle Challenge saw a huge turnout of more than 600 cyclists who competed in 15km, 35km and 75km categories.
Vera Adrian won the Elite Women’s Marathon category after completing the 75km category in 4:34:28.
Genevieve Weber came second, more than five minutes behind in 4:40:00, while Irene Steyn came third in 4:45:04.
Joze Barth won the Men’s 35km category in 1:48:20, followed by Mannie Heymans (1:51:53) and Hans du Toit (1:53:24) while Lerike Burger won the Women’s 35km category in 2:20:06, followed by Johanita de Waal (2:23:13) and Ulande Viljoen (2:24:43).
Heiko von Ludwiger won the Men’s 15km category in 36:36, followed by Fariet Cornelissen (38:04) and Andre Louw (38:17), while Anke Janik won the women’s 15km category in 41:14, followed by Heather Cramer (45:44) and Tersia van Zyl (46:04).
