WINDHOEK – The 35th edition of the country’s biggest cycling competition, the annual Nedbank Cycle Challenge was officially launched in the capital yesterday.
The iconic event will kick off with the MTB Challenge and the Kidz Challenge categories on the Saturday of 15 February at Waldorf School on the outskirts of Windhoek.
The two events will then be preceded by the grueling Road Challenge the following day, 16 February, with the racing starting off at Waldorf School and finishing at the Zoo Park in the center of the city.
As for the MTB Challenge, the organisers say the routes will provide cyclists with access to some of the prime and most challenging mountain biking trails at Farm Windhoek.
Speaking at yesterday’s launch, Nedbank’s Chief Financial Officer, JG Van Graan noted that this year’s event would present new challenges for cyclists.
“The Nedbank Road Challenge, in particular, has developed a special allured in the intervening years since 1986, and its recipe has not changed. This year, we will have a single race weekend as we look to condense the crowded national cycling challenge and pool resources to maintain the allure of the race. Apart from the amenities and the opportunity for the Waldorf School to generate some funds through entrepreneurship endeavours on race day, these premise also provide us with easy access to some of our prime mountain biking trails on Farm Windhoek,” said Van Graan.
Speaking at the same gathering was veteran Frank Bomosch, who won the inaugural Nedbank Kidz Challenge in 1986, he reflected on the way the race has grown into a huge annual event.
“It’s a daunting race, recalling from my win at the inaugural edition, everything was different. But you can now see how the event has grown into one of the biggest races. It’s good to see the growth,” Bomosch said.
Registrations are open with online entry at EventToday. Entry forms can also be obtained from Nedbank branches countrywide, with the closing date set for Friday, 7 February.
This year the distances for the challenges will be 20km, 30km, 60km and 100km, which will be conducted under the strict rules and regulations of the International Cycling Union (ICU), the world body that regulates the sport.