Miller the new king of Africa

The 21-year-old prodigy Alex Miller has become Namibia’s first men’s elite African mountain bike cross-country champion since Marc Bassingthwaighte in 2009.

The Olympic rider had initially planned to compete in the men’s under-23 category at Saturday’s showpiece event at Farm Windhoek, but he then upgraded to the elite entry on Friday – and proceeded to make this decision count.

Alan Hatherly, the previous continental title holder in Windhoek in 2019, appeared on the entry list as part of a strong South African contingent, but in his absence Miller led the sweven-lap race from start to finish.

“I felt great in the days building up to the race and decided that I had nothing to lose. Luckily the legs were there. I kept the pace high from the start, as I knew I had to do.

“Only Philip Buys (four-time African champion) came with me and he just kept a few seconds behind to keep my slightly worried. After the third or fourth lap I managed to break the elastic between us, but I knew I had to keep going and luckily it worked out."

The 35-kilometre distance, with 900 metres of climbing, truly tested the riders from nine African countries.

“Hearing the support from the home crowd just really gives you a boost of energy when you think you have nothing left. Kudos to Nedbank and all the organisers who managed to put together an outstanding event.”

Miller says the African title has always been a dream and means a lot to him. “I’ve come a long way with my coach (Hans du Toit) and we always seem to perform when we need to.”

Team South Africa dominated the women’s and younger men’s classes.

Namibia’s 19-year-old Hugo Hahn (entered in the elite race) lost a decent medal chance when his chain broke during the first lap. Bergran Jensen took a great silver medal in the U23 class,

Another strong favourite in the junior men’s race, Kevin Lowe, decided to race despite having a fever and then hurting his knee in a fall. He finally withdrew after three of the five laps, while his compatriot Daniel Hahn clinched the silver for Namibia.

Monique du Plessis (19) was the only female medallist for Namibia, with a breakthrough U23 bronze.

Michelle Vorster (gold in Mauritius 2017) remains Namibia’s only previous female elite African champion.

The top five riders in each of the UCI classes on Saturday were:

ELITE WOMEN

1 Mariske Strauss (RSA) 1:32:26

2 Candice Lill (RSA) 1:33:15

3 Kim Le Court de Billot (Mauritius) 1:37:51

4 Nancy Akinyi (Kenya) lapped.

5 Marie Raphaelle Lamusse (Mauritius) 1:33:20

ELITE MEN

1 Alex Miller (Namibia) 1:29:02

2 Philip Buys (RSA) 1:30:38

3 Luke Moir (RSA) 1:33:46

4 Xavier Papo (Namibia) 1:37:57

5 Daniel van der Walt (RSA) 1:37:59

WOMEN UNDER 23

1 Andrea Schöfmann (RSA) 1:27:23

2 Rimarí Sutton (RSA) 1:28:52

3 Monique du Plessis (Namibia) 01:30:24

4 Karla Stumpf (RSA) 1:33:24

5 Karlise Scheepers (RSA) 1:34:46

MEN UNDER 23

1 Johan van Zyl (RSA) 1:18:46

2 Bergran Jensen (Namibia) 1:22:32

3 Michael Foster (RSA) 1:23:58

4 Kai von During (RSA) 1:24:01

5 Unathi Nxumalo (RSA) 1:24:10

JUNIOR WOMEN

1 Tyler Jacobs (RSA) 1:03:15

2 Ada Kahl (RSA) 1:10:27

3 Madison Mann (RSA) 1:13:43

4 Lilian Baber (RSA) 1:17:12

5 Camille Chasteau de Balyon (Mauritius) 1:18:55

JUNIOR MEN

1 Ernest Roets (RSA) 1:06:57

2 Daniel Hahn (Namibia) 1:07:36

3 Massimiliano Ambrosi (RSA) 1:08:47

4 Phillip Naude (RSA) 1:10:41

5 Jean-Jacques Holtzhausen (RSA) 1:10:57