South Africa takes gold

SOUTH Africa won the Team Time Trial at the African Cycling Championships in impressive style on Wednesday when they finished nearly three minutes ahead of second placed Namibia.

The South African team, consisting of Jay Thomson, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Ian McCleod and Christoff van Heerden, completed the 40,40km time trial in 50 minutes 4 seconds, at an average speed of 48,42 km/h.The Namibian team consisting of Petrus Lotto, Victor Krohne, Heinrich Kohne and Jacques Celliers finished second in 52:57, just ahead of Libya who came third in 53:01.They were followed by Egypt (54:30), Zambia (54:57), Ethiopia (55:54) and a Namibian Federation team (57:07), consisting of development riders Ingram Cuff, Damien Agnew and Ermin van Wyk.A total of 11 teams representing 10 countries competed in the Team Time Trial which consisted of four laps of 10,1km each. Namibia, as the host, was allowed to enter two teams – their first team and a developmental Federation team.One of the favourites for the team time trial, Morocco, had to withdraw at the last minute after some of their cycling equipment did not arrive in time in Windhoek.The African Cycling Championships continue today with the Individual Time Trial for women and men starting at 08h30 and 09h40 respectively. The Championships will be concluded on Sunday with the Women’s Road Race at 07h00 and the Men’s Road Race at 14h00.Meanwhile, Namibian veteran Mannie Heymans has withdrawn from the Namibian team to compete in the road race on Sunday, since he will be competing in South Africa over the weekend. Heymans’ withdrawal is a further blow to the Namibian team following the unavailability of the defending African champion Dan Craven due to a broken collarbone.Team Time Trial Results:1 South Africa 50:042 Namibia 52:573 Libya 53:014 Egypt 54:305 Zambia 54:576 Ethiopia 55:547 Namibia Federation 57:078 Ivory Coast 57:239 Seychelles 1:00:1210 Sao Tome 1:02:3211 Zimbabwe 1:03:32www.namibiasport.com.na