Staff Reporter
All is set for today’s much-anticipated Nedbank National Time Trial Championships and Sunday’s Nedbank National Road Race Championships.
Both events are slated for Windhoek. The races are part of what promises to be an action-packed 2022 cycling season, following the return of most sporting events countrywide.
The events are expected to see the country’s leading cyclists battling it out for national titles, with the time trial taking place on the Okahandja road. It will see riders starting and finishing at the NamWater Bridge on the B1 road, starting at 15h00.
The road race will start and end at Zoo Park in the central business district, with a looped route in the city centre, sweeping past the Nedbank Campus along Fidel Castro Street from 06h00.
The route will mimic some of the technical intricacies expected for road cyclists competing at the upcoming Commonwealth Games. The distances for the road race range from 14km for the U/10s to 150km for the more experienced riders.
Both elite men and women are expected to battle it out for the national titles during both events. The male and female categories, besides the elite group, include U/23s, sub-veteran, veteran, master, and grand master categories, as well as the junior group categories from U/10 and up.
Both the events are hosted in conjunction with the Namibian Cycling Federation.
The time trial is open to anyone in non-UCI (International Cycling Union) categories, but only Namibians are eligible for national medals, and only Namibians may enter the UCI categories. The entry fees are N$150 for those 16 years and over and N$50 for those 16 years and younger.
The elite and U/23 men’s total distance is 40,84km. Elite women, junior men, junior women, sub-veteran men and women, master men and women, grand master men, U/16 boys and girls, and U/14 boys cover a total distance of 20,42km.
U/12 boys, U/14 girls, U/10 boys and U/10 girls cover a distance of 12km.
For the road race, elite and U/23 men will cover a total distance of 152km.
The prize-giving will be held on Sunday, and only the top three in all age categories and their immediate family are invited to attend in adherence to Covid-19 health regulations.