KIA sponsors mountain bike action at the coast
So far the KIA MTB series has demanded wit and grit from its participants.
The 60 km route traverses the Southern edge of the Swakop River and passes the farm plots across the open desert area. Two water points will keep the marathon riders refreshed. Mountain bikers in the 30 km competition initially follow the marathon route, but exclude the farm and desert loops. The finish zone for both routes is situated at Mile 4 Caravan Park north of Swakopmund. Cut-off time is 12h00.
Pieter Swiegers will travel up from Klein Aus Vista to defend his position as leader of the men’s ranking in the KIA MTB series. In the ladies competition Susanne Borg is currently on top of the table, while the overall winner of the first leg, Tristan de Lange, is number one amongst the junior riders.
The KIA sponsored series will be continued with the Otjiwa MTB Marathon on 2 June and concludes with the Uris Mountainbike Classic in Tsumeb on 29 June. For the four races series, KIA has put aside prize money amounting to N$ 25 000, which will be handed out to the top riders of the different categories at the end of the season. In cooperation with the Coastal Cycling Club the mountain bike enthusiasts from Rock & Rut will also stage the third race of their cross country series this Saturday at the coast. Main sponsor for the event is also KIA Motors. The start and finish will be at the Rooibank Reservoir just outside Walvis Bay. Club members can participate for free, while non-members have to pay N$ 50.
Riders will be divided into two groups according to their category. Registration closes half an hour before the start of each race. At 10h00 the first lot of mountain bikers hit a 5.4 km track, which has to be completed between two and five times. Two hours later the second group is scheduled to compete for up to seven laps on a demanding 5.8 km course.
Last Saturday a total of 207 riders took part in the second leg of the series. Heinrich Köhne won the race in a time of 1 hour, 32 minutes and 25 seconds, followed by Gerhard Mans (1:36:58 hours) and Charl Fouche (1:39:30). In the ladies competition Zoe Mitchell (1:33:49) took top honours, while Hester Prins (1:37:17) and Bertha Theron (1:37:17) came second and third respectively. Michael Pretorius (1:36:20) from the KIA team dominated the junior men’s category, as he finished the race almost 14 minutes ahead of second placed Thorsten Kreft (1:50:18). Jerneil Barth (1:51:06) clinched third spot.
