Miller, Baber rake in UCI points at IJG Trails
Mountain biking
Elite riders from South Africa and Namibia were in a determined competition for world ranking points.
Namibia's Alex Miller and South Africa’s Lilian Baber won the elite men and women’s cross-country races at the 2024 Nedbank Namibia UCI Class-1 races that were held at the IJG Trails in Windhoek last Saturday.Winners in the UCI categories (elite, U23 and juniors U18) were allotted valuable points on the world rankings, which helps them earn better starting positions at the bigger international races in Europe and elsewhere.
Miller led from start to finish as he led fellow countryman Kevin Lowe to a one-two finish ahead of South Africa’s Michael Foster. Miller held on to his title for the second year in a row, in a winning time of one hour, 28 minutes, 08 seconds, while Lowe managed to keep the nearest margin (1:29:41), beating the likes of the South African trio Foster (1:30:50), Massimiliano Ambrosi and Ernie Roets (fifth).
Namibia’s Martin Freyer took sixth place ahead of Johan van Zyl (RSA), Daniel van der Walt (RSA), Theuns van der Westhuizen (Namibia) and Ignatius du Preez (RSA).
Afterwards, Miller said he thoroughly enjoyed the race, even though it was hard.
“I enjoyed the track a lot, even though it was not a comfortable race, and I am happy to score 60 UCI points. The points will help me with the rankings, as the more points you get, the higher you get to start in the cross-country races, world championship events, and many international events. The more points, the better,” he said.
Miller added that he was looking forward to defending his national title this coming weekend before jetting off to Spain, where he will participate in various international events before participating in the African Championships taking place in Morocco between 11 and 12 May.
“This is a fast track with many corners, which can get you out sometimes, so one has to be very sharp and play it safe. The weather was perfect, with lots of sun and no wind,” Miller concluded.
In the women’s race, Barber finished in a time of 01:20:30, seven seconds ahead of Zimbabwe’s Stacy Hyslop, with Namibia’s Jaen-Marie Mostert third (1:28:58) ahead of her compatriots Courtney Liebenberg and Mimi Hough.
JUNIORS
In the UCI junior men’s race, Namibia’s Roger Surén beat highly rated South African duo Omar Wilson and Samuel Cleary to claim the 2024 title at 1:04:54.
In their sprint finish, Wilson (second) and Cleary finished with the same time just two seconds behind the Namibian.
In the UCI women’s junior race, Namibia’s Delsia van Vuuren beat South Africa’s Carla van Vuuren and Erin Faye Mackridge. Delsia came home first at 1:04:41, more than a minute in front of Carla (1:06:17), with Mackridge finishing at 1:08:14.
The chairperson of Rock & Rut Mountain Bike Club, and organiser of the event, Hanso Diehl, said everything went well as there were no major incidents recorded on the day.
“We are happy with how the event turned out. The participation of athletes from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Lesotho raises the level of racing. We’re very proud of how well our Namibian cyclists competed in such a strong field. We appreciate the support of the spectators, volunteers and sponsors who make events like this a success.”
Nedbank Namibia communications and public relations manager, Selma Kaulinge said: “Seeing our Namibian cyclists take top honours in a field of skilled cyclists from neighbouring countries is testimony to the level of expertise our cyclists have accumulated over the years.
“Nedbank Namibia is extremely proud to see that our contribution to the sport of cycling has witnessed Namibian cyclists take center stage and defend their titles in the different race categories is a phenomenon achievement. Our investment in the sport is ultimately to help ensure the grooming of talent to be able to represent the country on both local and international platforms.”