Thrilling results at Vegas MTB Challenge
The Vegas MTB Challenge, organised by Gravel & Dirt and powered by Hollard, took place on Saturday at Little Las Vegas, just 20 km from Windhoek.Riders delivered another thrilling day of racing in the penultimate event of the Gravel & Dirt MTB Marathon series. This is one of the largest cycling series in Namibia, offering riders a platform to train, enabling them to compete in international events, including the Olympics.
With the venue’s resident rhinos providing additional entertainment for riders and spectators, the event once again brought out the best in Namibia’s mountain bikers, along with a few surprises.
Melissa Hinz from Team Hollard, one of the pre-race favourites and a regular podium finisher, was unfortunate to have her hopes dashed by an accident on her first lap of the circuit and was unable to finish.
Among the men, Roger Surén, a regular presence in the Men’s top three and winner of the Friedenau MTB Challenge in May, chose to shift his focus to the half marathon event in preparation for an international race later this year.
As with all the events in the Gravel & Dirt series, the Vegas MTB Challenge allowed riders of all backgrounds and varying skills to test themselves against Namibia’s rugged landscape at a venue familiar to many.
Those who came out on top demonstrated true mastery of the demanding 64 km course. In a thrilling finale to the Men’s Marathon, winner Martin Freyer, Team Hollard, finished just a second ahead of Justus Beulker of Team BMB (last year’s 34 km winner), with a time of 2 hours and 49 seconds. Kevin Lowe, of Team Cymot, was third in 2:01:25.
Ladies
In the women’s marathon, Anri Greeff of Team Hollard cruised to victory in 2:22:41. Veteran Genevieve Weber of Team Mannie’s Bike Mecca finished second in a phenomenal time of 2:34:49, while Courtney Liebenberg from Team Cathy finished third in 2:37:35.
“Once again we have witnessed the incredible skill, determination and resilience of Namibia’s mountain bikers,” said Johan Pretorius, event manager from Raceday Events.
“We’ve also been privileged to experience the great Namibian outdoors again. We need to thank so many people for their contributions to today’s success – the team from Little Las Vegas, our main sponsor Hollard, Cymot, Mannie’s Bike Mecca, Deo-Pharma, Lumber City, and of course, all competitors, spectators and supporters. It’s thanks to the dedication of all of these parties that we can have this top-class mountain bike racing right here on our doorstep.”
Attention now turns to the final race in the series, the Vaalgras MTB Challenge, to be held on 14 September on farm Vaalgras, 50 km west of Windhoek on the Kupferberg Road.
For more information about this and other upcoming Gravel & Dirt events, visit Gravel & Dirt on social media as well as www.raceday.events.