Otniel Hembapu
Otjiwarongo-Namibia’s top cross-country female cyclist Michelle Vorster on Saturday dominated headlines in Mauritius when he won the elite women category of the 2017 XCO (Cross-Country Olympic) African Continental MTB Championships in Bel Ombre, south Mauritius.
Vorster delivered one of her best performances to tear apart a strong field of competitors, clocking a remarkable time of 1:23:55 to scoop gold in the elite women category of the XCO African Continental MTB Championships.
Aurelie Halbwachs of Mauritius took second place with her time of 1:26:35 and was closely followed by Lesotho’s Likeleli Masitise, who clocked 1:47:56. Pauline Toulet also of Mauritius came in at third place with her time of 1:54:42.
The elite men’s category was won by South Africa’s Alan Hatherly (1:20:18), followed by compatriot Stuart Marais (1:23:03) in second place while Yannick Lincoln (1:26:23) of Mauritius came in at third place.
Also in the mix of things on Saturday was Namibia’s top young rider Tristan De Lange, who crossed the finish line in a time of 1:09:28 to win the U/23 category of the XCO African Continental MTB Championships.
Lesotho’s Tumelo Makae (1:10:43) claimed second place while South Africa’s Henry Liebenberg (1:12:18) and Mohamed Zarhoun (1:13:42) of Morocco came in at third and fourth places respectively.