Lowe, Hough win Nedbank Rock & Rut XC2
Mountain biking
Mimi Hough and Kevin Lowe produced skillful rides to win the Nedbank Rock & Rut mountain bike club’s XC2 race at the IJG Trails on the southern outskirts of Windhoek last Saturday.The second event of the local cross-country mountain bike series, presented in all different age categories, saw Hough who had initially entered as a veteran woman, upgraded to the elite category. She completed the six-lap race in one hour, two minutes, 19 seconds.
Michelle Döman was crowned the winner in the sub-veteran women category ahead of Nicola Fester, while Sonja Obholzer triumphed among the veteran women. Riders in these categories were tested over five laps.
Promising under-16 girls winner Rose-Marie Thiel was the fastest by about 20 seconds in the five-lap women’s categories.
In the elite men's race, Kevin Lowe (winning time 1:07:11) finished about two minutes ahead of fellow under-23 competitors Theuns van der Westhuizen (second in 1:09:11) and Adrian Key (1:13:24) in their eight-lap race.
Speaking afterwards, Lowe said he was happy to have won despite the low turnout.
“I enjoyed the track; it was nice and fast. The weather was a bit cold at the start; hence, I knew a decent warm-up would do the trick.
“During the first two laps, I could feel my feet were still a bit cold, but after that, I was fine. I had a good battle in the first two laps with Marco (Thiel), but I decided to ride my own race. It’s good to see the young ones coming through.
“Today we missed some experienced riders like Alex Miller who competed in Switzerland, but the competition was still good,” he said.
Lowe said there was a bit of wind, especially felt during the straight start-to-finish stretch, while there were some short and long climbs that made the race challenging, but he was happy to have managed to deal with those effectively.
Justus Beulker, the only entrant in the junior men's (under-18) race, finished in 1:06:15 (seven laps), while Marco Thiel won the under-16 race (five laps), ahead of Sean Lowe in second place and Christiaan van der Westhuizen in third.
Up next
Rock & Rut committee representative Michael Hennes said: ‘The competition was good amongst the cyclists in all categories. The juniors are stepping up, and they are learning quickly from the experienced riders.
“We are hoping for more riders at our next event which will be held at Farm Bergquell (south of Okahandja, on 29 June).”
The prize-giving ceremony for the overall winners of the Nedbank Rock & Rut series will be held on a date yet to be determined, with the winners set to receive cash prizes.
Nedbank Namibia communications and public relations manager, Selma Kaulinge, said: ‘Having another successful event in the XC race series is something we should be proud of. We saw our cyclists take on not only the extreme terrain, but also the cold weather.
“Our investment in the cycling fraternity reflects our commitment to nurturing young talent and promoting a healthy, active lifestyle.
“We’re also particularly proud of supporting the next generation of cyclists and look forward to seeing them excel in their trade.”