Adrian, Coetzee crowned national cycling champions
Vera Adrian retained her crown as national champion while Drikus Coetzee became a national champion for the first time after winning the 2021 Nedbank Namibia National Road Cycling Championships yesterday.
The race saw riders cycling to Elisenheim Bridge along the Western Bypass on the A1 road en route to Okahandja and back to Carin Park for the finish line. The Elite Men category saw riders cycling 150 kilometres (km), while the Elite Women completed a 116km course.
Coetzee, who on Friday retained his individual time trial title for the fourth consecutive time, broke away from the peloton during the last lap of the race and created a gap of over two minutes when he crossed the line to be crowned national champion.
He beat 2019 African Games mountain bike champion Tristan de Lange who came behind with the chasing pack.
Ingram Cuff came fourth but will stand on the podium in third place as Alex Miller, who came third in the Elite Men category, will be crowned national champion in the Under-23 category.
In the Elite Women category, Adrian retained the title she has won for the last three years in a row and will thus represent Namibia at the 2021 Olympic Games. She finished off the race with over 45 seconds ahead of the chasing pack.
Speaking to the media after crossing the finish line, Coetzee who has for the past three years missed out on being crowned champion of the Elite Men’s category, said it felt good to be crowned national champion.
“During our last lap I took a chance to attack and it worked for me. I am a time trialist and I knew if I break off and get the assistance of the wind at certain stages I will put myself in a good position to win the race,” he said.
He added that after breaking his collarbone in December, he trained so hard when he recovered but credit should be given to all his sponsors who have been there for him for a very long time.
Adrian told the media that she was happy to see more women cycling, which indicates that the sport of cycling is growing in the country. “I hope next year when we compete for this title, we will have over 20 women at the starting line-up but if we look at today’s race, I really enjoyed it. I am now looking forward towards my preparation for the Olympic Games,” she said.