2015-11-04Staff Report 2 Windhoek The managing director of Nedbank Namibia, Lionel Matthews addressed partners, sponsors and the media at the official launch of the 2015 Nedbank Desert Dash recently. “Following a Nedbank Namibia Strategy Conference held in 2013, we issued a challenge to ourselves in the sense that our bank aims to dominate the cycling scene in Namibia. Nedbank Namibia already owns the biggest cycling race in our country, the Nedbank Cycle Challenge, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in February next year”. Since 2013, Nedbank has significantly stepped up its investment into the sport of cycling and it will now host two of the country’s premier cycling series – the Nedbank/Rock & Rut Cross-country Series, and the Nedbank/Windhoek Pedal Power Road Cycling Series. The Nedbank Desert Dash holds a special allure for cyclists from all the over the world and we see that appeal by virtue of just how quickly the available entries are snapped up once they become available. This year 118 solo riders, 112 two-man teams and 65 4-man teams take on the monumental task of cycling 369 km across the world’s oldest desert to cement their names in the archives of cycling history. It took less than half a minute for every one of the 112 entry places in the two-man category to be snapped up. The 118 solo rider entries were sold out in less than 5 minutes and an astonishing 14 seconds was all it took before the 65 four-men entries were all signed up. With the generous support of sponsoring partners, this year’s event promises to be an iconic event. The true test of cycling mettle is riding – and finishing – the Nedbank Desert Dash. “It will therefore be our distinct honour to host this iconic race for the next five years,” Mathews added. 2015-11-04Staff Report 2
