Namibia’s leading mountain bikers are gearing up for the start of this year’s KIA mountain bike series, which gets underway with the 5th edition of the eagerly anticipated Klein-Aus Vista MTB Challenge this weekend.
The event is sponsored by Standard Bank, Kia Namibia, Maerua Superspar and
Gondwana Collection and has attracted close to 100 cyclists from across the country who have already confirmed their participation.
The first part of the two-day race which winds its way through the Aus Mountains, labelled with the slogan ‘Tough Scenic Rewarding’ starts on Saturday, with the 2nd stage slated for Sunday morning.
More categories have been introduced this year to give more recognition to the riders as per their age groups.
Event organisers have also introduced the Racing Rhino category to accommodate the heavier men and women for both the full and half marathon.
Men weighing in over 90kg on the race registration day will qualify for this category. Women weighing in over 70kg on the race registration day also qualify to register for the Racing Rhino category.
There will be an 18-km track for kids and participants can enter on the date of registration. This particular loop is mainly a single track while there will be a marked 2-km track close to the lodge for toddlers.
On each day, lucrative prizes will be awarded to the top-5 participants in all categories, provided there are five riders in a category.
The overall in the male category, the victor ludorum, will walk away with N$10 000 while for the first time in the competition’s history the overall female winner (victrix ludorum) will become N$10 000 richer.