• Sport

Kingpins of the road

On Friday, Drikus Coetzee and Melissa Hinz won the Elite National Individual Time Trial titles of the 2023 Nedbank National Road Cycling Championships in Windhoek.

On Sunday morning, Tristan de Lange and Vera Looser won the Elite Category Road Race for men and women, respectively.

Coetzee outsmarted Jean-Paul Burger, the defending 2022 champion, with 66 seconds to finish the 40-kilometer race in 56 minutes and 29 seconds (56:29) to extend his tally to five National Championship titles. Burger finished second in 57:35, while Hardus Nel came in third with 1 hour, 02:57 registered on the stopwatch.

Due to an injury, Looser could not defend her 2022 title successfully over 30 km. However, she still managed to end third in 32:37, with Anri Krugel second in 32:12.

Hinz (31:33) worked hard for her gold medal, beating Krugel by 39 seconds to become the new 2023 National Champion.



Tough race

"I knew I had to catch JP and it happened after 20 km. From there, I took things easier sitting in front of JP to save my legs for Sunday’s road race," Coetzee said afterwards.

"The conditions were excellent, but the route was definitely tougher than last year's course, with a lot of drag on the climbs. "Look, I am a long-distance endurance rider, and the fast and furious pace of road racing is getting the better of me."



Road race

In the 134 km race, De Lange won gold, Drikus Coetzee took silver, and Ingram Cuff took bronze.

Looser once again proved to be the best over 115 kilometres, forcing Hinz into second place

Anri Krugel third.

Coetzee said: "I felt strong today and had a good race; unfortunately, I couldn't make it through. I knew it was going to be a difficult one when it came down to a sprint, since I'm not a sprinter and the race's distance is too short for me.

"After the first round, we had a breakaway of six racers. On the hills on the Kuperfberg Pass, I tried to narrow down the numbers in our leading group.

"I’ve tried to get rid of all my competitors to avoid a bunch sprint to the finish line. With 14 km left of the race, I launched another attack, with only Tristan keeping up.

"We raced together to the final 500 metres with quite a strong headwind. I took a gamble to lead the sprint to the finish line, but Tristan is a top-class sprinter and fairly beat me to clinch the road title. Well done, Tristan!"



Time Trial results for UCI Categories:



Under 23 Men (40 km): 1 JG van der Westhuizen (1:05:46), 2 Simon Kaita (1:06:55), 3 Ethan L’Strange (1:07:18).

Junior Men (20 km): 1 Kevin Lowe (28:48), 2 Daniel Hahn (29:49), 3 Theuns van der Westhuizen (30:56).

Under 23 Women (30 km): 1 Monique du Plessis (34:32), 2 Olivia Shililifa (36:38).

Junior Women (20 km): 1 Angela Kamati (43:50), 2 Laura Engling (44:08), 3 Sithembile Monga (56:20).



Road Race results for UCI Categories:



Elite Men: 1 T. de Lange (3:18:15), 2 D. Coetzee (3:18:15), 3 I. Cuff (3:20:46).

U.23 Men (134 km). 1 Hugo Hahn (3:27:29), 2 JG van der Westhuizen (3:41:06), 3 S. Kaita (3:51:04).

Junior Men (96 km): 1 K. Lowe (2:42:06), 2 D. Hahn (2:42:06), 3 T. van der Wetshuizen (2:42:08).

Elite Women: 1 V. Looser (2:45:49), 2 M. Hinz (2:46:20), 3 A. Krugel (2:47:16).

U.23 Women (115 km): 1 O. Shililifa (2:49:20), 2 M. du Plessis (2:49:26).

Junior Women (77 km): 1 Eden Spangenberg (2:39:32), 2 Angela Kamati (3:01:54), 3 Laura Engling (3:03:53).



No comments from the other champions were available at the time going to print.



tielman@republikein.com.na