NAMIBIAN cycling and sport in general suffered a huge loss on Tuesday with the news that Costa Seibeb had died after being involved in a motorcar accident.
According to a police report, Seibeb lost control of his vehicle and it overturned at about 03h00 on Tuesday morning, about 40km from Aus. He was rushed by ambulance to a Windhoek hospital, but died from his injuries a few hours later.
The Namibian Cycling Federation on Tuesday issued a statement saying the cycling fraternity was devastated by the news.
“We were shocked to learn about this tragic event… This is a tremendous loss for the cycling community, as Costa’s tenacity and perseverance to succeed made him an idol for many young aspiring athletes. We extend our sincere condolences from the entire Namibian cycling community to the family and friends of Raul Costa Seibeb,” the NCF’s vice president Rolf Adrian said.
Gernot de Klerk, Nedbank’s head of marketing and communications said it was a tragic loss.
“For us at Nedbank this is an absolute tragedy, while our country has lost probably one of the most talented athletes of his generation. Costa was a rising icon and his popularity and achievements started opening up a societal demographic which would otherwise not have been involved in cycling,” he said.
Nedbank contracted Seibeb as a professional cyclist in mid-2015, and De Klerk said this made him even more determined to achieve great things.
“He had such a drive and his sheer willpower to achieve made him stand out. He was genuinely interested in being the best cyclist he could be and that’s why he trained so hard – he was so determined to be the best,” he added.
Seibeb was only 25 years old and having established himself as one of Namibia’s top senior cyclists, a great future lay ahead of him.
Seibeb’s first victory as a cyclist came in 2009 when he won the 30km race at the Nedbank Cycle Challenge as a 17-year-old, but it was only three years later that he took the cycling fraternity by storm.
Then, having just turned 20, he won the senior men’s title over 75km at the same race to announce his arrival and start a remarkable era of dominance.
He went on to win the Nedbank Cycle Challenge for four years in a row and by the end of 2012 he was selected to the Namibian national team that competed at the African Continental Cycling Championships in Burkina Faso.
In 2012 Seibeb was invited to the UCI Africa Cycling Centre in South Africa for the first time, and by 2013 he formed part of a UCI Africa team that competed in races in Europe.
Here he excelled, winning the Zuri Metzgete race in Zurich, Switzerland, making history in the process as it was the first European victory for a cyclist from the World Cycling Centre African team.
In 2014 he was invited back to the UCI Africa Cycling Centre and competed in several races in South Africa, riding for the MTN Feeder team.
He also won the Namibian Cycle Challenge in 2013 and 2015, and the National Road Race title in 2014.
Seibeb also excelled as a mountain bike rider and won numerous races on the Namibian mountain bike calendar, while he was the Namibian mountain bike marathon champion for the past two years.
According to the police report, a case of culpable homicide is being investigated due to reckless or negligent driving; the use of a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent; and driving a vehicle without a driver’s license.
Seibeb was driving a Nedbank vehicle at the time, but De Klerk said he did not want to comment on that.
“For us it’s much more important to honour his legacy. He achieved so much against so many odds and the country has lost one of its best talents. We in the cycling fraternity must now rally around and give our support to his family,” he said.
