Otjihavera Experience draws 230 riders

The FNB Otjihavera Experience, in association with Novel Ford, had the biggest field of riders Namibia has ever seen in a multi stage marathon event. More than 230 riders lined up for the two-day event through the mountains around Midgard.
The day again belonged to team Klein Aus Vista with the overall win, defending their 2015 title. Team Subvetters of Wim Steenkamp and Ingram Cuff used the flat sections to their advantage but it was not enough on the overall time with Costa and “Jnr” De Koe still taking the overall second position for the race.
In the other categories team FNB Masters Men and FNB Mixed maintained their dominance and won their categories both for the second day and overall.
In the ladies’ team Elenor Grassow and Gen Weber of Cycletec Chicks had a great ride and won the ladies title as well as claiming 14th overall ahead of most mens’ teams. In the Rhino category the young legs of Andre de Klerk and Danny Villinger proved too strong for the rest of the contenders.”
The race was a great success and a total of more than N$ 50,000 as well as many lucky draw prizes were taken home by the competitors.
Gordon Pokolo, Sponsorship Manager at FNB Namibia said, “Day one was well suited to climbers with many challenging climbs to test the legs. From the start the route had a steep climb, which was the norm for the day with very little flat sections to recover on.
Pokolo added, “Day two was a welcome change from the gruelling day one with fast flat farm tracks in the Swakop River valley under huge Camelthorn trees.
Meanwhile, the event catered for families as well as riders with a great weekend out in the mountains. The Rock and Rut is Namibia’s biggest cycling club, presenting the Otjihavera Experience each year as their only marathon event on the calendar. All proceeds from the race goes back into the development of Mountain Biking and is presented by the committee as volunteers.