WINDHOEK – All the traumas of the last couple of weeks were temporarily put aside in the aftermath of the ugly verbal spat between the country’s cycling authorities and a local cycling sensation.
Young cyclist, Raul Costa Seibeb put behind him frustrations punctuated by the cruelty and manner in which he was suspended during a kangaroo court by cycling authorities to claim his fourth consecutive victory in high-profile road race this year.
Seibeb, 23, left a strong field of 157 cyclists in the lurch during the newly introduced gruelling 100-kilometre route of the annual Nedbank cycle challenge to record his fourth win in the annual cycle challenge in Windhoek yesterday.
From the onset, Seibeb stayed with the leading bunch only to slightly fall behind with the chasing pack but soon recovered momentum and caught up with the leading pack showing his strength on the hilly stretch on the Daan Viljoen road.
By the halfway stage, the Okahandja Park resident positioned himself well among the leading pack and managed to guard his placing with brutal jealousy until the finishing line.
The victory left some of his competitors grumbling with incoherent moans that Seibeb was inconsiderate regarding the safety of other cyclists accusing him of riding recklessly and dangerously. Michelle Forster triumphed in the ladies 100-kilometre road race.
A total of 1 014 cyclists gathered at Independence Avenue in the early hours of yesterday for the 30th edition of the annual Nedbank cycle challenge.
The popular cycling extravaganza attracted people from all walks of life as cyclists young and old grilled each other in four different categories consisting the main 100 kilometre race (157); 75 km (310); 35 km (341); and the shorter 20-kilometre race (196).
A significant chunk of the country’s leading cyclists lined up in the challenging 100 kilometre race led by defending champion Raul Costa Seibeb, Tjipee Murangi and dozens of veteran local cyclists.
They all gave it their very best shot in what has now arguably become one of the most coveted events on the Namibian sports calendar. More details and photos will be published in tomorrow’s edition.