Herbert Peters was crowned the overall men’s winner and Anri Krugel as the overall best female rider of the inaugural PSG Ride the Ridges MTB three-day stage race, which took place over the weekend at Heja Lodge.
Peters clocked six hours, 11 minutes and 30 seconds, while Krugel recorded a time of six hours, 19 minutes and 21 seconds.
The event has been hailed as a huge success by the organisers, riders and sponsors alike.
This unique MTB event, co-sponsored by Capricorn Group, turned out to be an epic mountain bike adventure on the beautiful scenic ridges surrounding Windhoek, which was lush green after the blessing of rain.
The journey comprised three stages, starting and ending at Heja Lodge, with the first stage called ‘Chase the Sun’.
Riders departed at around 15h00 on Friday, just after a heavy shower of rain, and enjoyed breathtaking scenery from some of the highest mountains surrounding Windhoek.
On Saturday, riders tackled the second stage of the route which took them 65km on jeep track, spread out over three privately owned farms and restricted access land.
Sunday was the final day, when riders took a shorter route of 30km through the scenic Las Vegas Namibia camp.
After each day of riding, all the mountain bikes were cared for by the Cycletec technicians in the Tech Zone, and stored safely for the next day.
The riders were treated with world-class water points on all three stages and a Rider Village at Heja Lodge that brought out the deeper essence of the PSG Ride the Ridges with live entertainment, a gin and beer bar, and a variety of stalls.
Many lucky-draw prizes were on offer at the prize-giving ceremony of each race, with a winner’s jersey handed over to the day’s male and female winners.
Family and friends gathered each day at Heja Lodge from early to cheer on the riders as they came in at the Rider Village, tired but exhilarated by the ride.
At the final prize-giving ceremony on Sunday, the organisers and sponsors announced that the number of entries for the 2023 PSG Ride the Ridges, which will again be co-sponsored by Capricorn Group, will increase by 50 to 200.
“We are humbled by the response from the riders on the event. The routes were sublime and the atmosphere on the routes and at water points were lively. We’re excited about next year’s event and welcome even more riders,” said Brian van Rensburg, director at PSG.
“Capricorn Group is proud of its partnership with PSG in hosting this very unique three-day stage race. The vision of PSG and Capricorn Group was to offer a world-class stage race, with a unique experience for riders around the capital city and we are pleased with the outcome. The event exceeded our expectations by far, and we are excited about the many ideas already discussed to offer an even better experience for riders in 2023,” said Marlize Horn, group executive for brand and corporate affairs at Capricorn Group.