Looser and Hinz win at Otjiwa

The Gravel & Dirt MTB series powered by Hollard Namibia had its second event of the year at Otjiwa Safari Lodge on Saturday.

The popular annual Otjiwa Eagle Ride attracted over 200 riders that stepped up to take the challenge that included some muddy parts.

Konny Looser of Switzerland, who need little introduction as a seven-time Nedbank Desert Dash solo champion, made his mark in the men’s race as he debuted with a strong win. Finishing the men’s full marathon distance of 80 km in 2 hours 25 minutes 06 seconds.

Upcoming youngster Roger Surén finished the race in second place in 2:28:24, just beating Justus Beulker (2:28:25) in a group sprint to the finish line.

The next three highly-rated mountain bikers – Daniel Hahn, Brandon Plaatjies and last year’s series champion Gerhard Mans – all finished with the same time as Beulker.

Rounding out the men’s top ten shortly after were Xavier Papo, Drikus Coetzee and Clinton Hilfiker (first of the masters men) – all battle-hardened competitors.

Looser, who made his debut in the series, after the race said: “It was a beautiful day out at Otjiwa Lodge, a first for me. The route is a bit flat for me, as I prefer mountains, but it’s still a good change. There were a lot of animals out there, giraffe and zebras, so it was pretty nice.

In the women’s full marathon, Melissa Hinz made it first to the finish line in a time of 02:45:35, ahead of Candice Wiggill in second (2:49:40) Jeanne Heunis in third (2:49:41), Lelani Swart (2:53:58) and Michelle Döman (3:07:36).

Hinz, in the colours of Hollard and still on a high after her top-ten finish the previous weekend on the road bike in the Cape Town Cycle Tour, said afterwards: “The race was nice, I can’t complain.

“I went hard from the beginning, we had a breakaway and I just took on from there. It was nice riding out in nature, all the mud and green nature made it epic.”

Some top category results:



WOMEN HALF MARATHON (40 KM)

1 Rosemarie Thiel (1:23:49, junior women)

2 Marcelle Eloff (1:29:00, open women 35-49)

3 Marsha Nel (1:30:43, open women 17-34)



MEN HALF MARATHON (40 KM)

1 Marco Thiel (1:13:37, junior men)

2 Simon Johannes (1:16:07, open men 17-34)

3 Christiaan van der Westhuizen (1:16:08, junior men)



80 KM SUB VETERAN MEN

1 Gerhard Mans (2:28:25)

2 Xavier Papo (2:28:36)

3 Drikus Coetzee (2:29:10)



80 KM VETERAN MEN

1 Cobus Smit (2:32:44)

2 Marcel Surén (2:32:44)

3 Vernon Maresch (2:32:54)



80 KM MASTERS MEN

1 Clinton Hilfiker (2:29:11)

2 Nick du Plessis (2:40:13)

3 Therald Murch (2:46:28)



80 KM VETERAN WOMEN

1 Jeanne Heunis (2:49:41)

2 Mara van Wyk (3:13:07)

3 Maike Bochert (3:14:07)



80 KM MASTER WOMEN

1 Monika Grossmann (3:14:07)

2 Anneke Steenkamp (3:21:40)

3 Riana Swiegelaar (3:25:52)

• The series resumes with race three, the West Coast MTB, on 30 March in the Erongo Region.