Otniel Hembapu
Windhoek-A public memorial service for departed Namibian top cyclist Raul Costa Seibeb – who died in a car accident last Monday – will be held at Christuskirche (Lutheran Church near Parliament Buildings) tomorrow in the capital, the Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) announced yesterday.
The service will start at 14:30 for 15:00. Seibeb died last Monday in a car accident while travelling from Lüderitz back to Windhoek. He was aged 25.
In a short statement released late yesterday, the NNOC in conjunction with the Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) and Nedbank Namibia invited the public and all stakeholders within the local cycling fraternity and the entire local sports sector in general to come out and honour the late Seibeb.
Early this year Seibeb delivered one of his best performances to win the 2017 Nedbank National Mountain Bike Championship after some individual brilliance on tricky routes. He also won the same race in 2015 and finished as runner-up in 2016.
The Namibian cycling sensation was a serious force to be reckoned with in the local cycling fraternity as he dominated headlines over the years, winning almost every competition that was to be won on the national cycling calendar.
Seibeb introduced himself to the world by winning most of the country’s biggest races, notably the 2013 Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Classic, in which he clocked an impressive 2:43:29 to beat veteran rider Gerhard Mans (2:43:51) and fellow youngster Lotto Petrus (2:43:51) in the 100km category.
Also in 2013, an upcoming Seibeb again dominated to clinch the Kia Mountain Bike Series winning the Uris MTB Classic, which was held in Tsumeb back then. Amongst the many races he won, Seibeb also scooped the 2014 National Road Race Championship and equally went on to win the 2015 Omaruru Spar Cycle Challenge.