Namibian cyclist Alex Miller made a return to Namibia with a victory in the last edition of the 2023 Nedbank Namibia Cross Country Championship, also known as the Nedbank Rock n Rut XC Mountain Bike Race Series, at IJG Trails in Windhoek on Saturday.

The cyclist, who has been training and competing in Europe for the past two months, came first among the elite riders in a time of 1 hour, 09 minutes and 51 seconds, ahead of Hugo Hahn in second, who clocked 1 hour, 12 minutes and 26 seconds after six laps. 

Third place was won by Xavier Papo in a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes and 28 seconds.

In the women’s competition, Nicola Fester continued her dominance of the women’s competition by winning the race and clocking 1 hour, 02 minutes and 30 seconds ahead of coastal-based cyclist Luanne van de Schyff, who clocked 1 hour, 08 minutes and 17 seconds after four laps.

Meanwhile, Simon Kaita and Nicola Fester emerged as overall winners of the race series, following their consistent dominance of the four-event series this year.

 Miller came second and Papo third in the men’s category, while Van der Schyff was placed second and Anique Schoeman third in the women’s section.

One of the organisers of the event Michael Hennes of Rock n Rut said this year’s event was a huge success, and they are aiming to build on the innovations introduced.

“We had a couple of innovations this year, like the relay races, which saw cyclists as young as 10 years old racing together with older cyclists,” he said.

Nedbank Namibia communications and public relations manager Selma Kaulinge thanked the cyclists and organising teams for an incredible season of the series.

“This race series is yet another testament to Nedbank Namibia’s contributions to the growth of cycling in the country. It’s through competitions like these that we prepare mountain bike cyclists to take on international races, which boost their rankings, so that they can take part in coveted cycling competitions both locally and globally. Next year, we will go bigger and better,” Kaulinge said.

The prize-giving ceremony will be held on a date yet to be determined, where the winners will receive cash prizes of N$3 000 in each category, with the second and third-placed winners set to receive N$2 000 and N$1 000.