Best riders awarded in Gravel & Dirt MTB Marathon Series
After seven gruelling races in the Gravel & Dirt MTB Marathon series during the course of the year, the top men and women riders are Drikus Coetzee and Irene Steyn.
The two received the awards as the overall best male and overall best female rider, based on points, at the sport’s annual award ceremony over the previous weekend.
The seven races were hosted in some of the most inhospitable areas scattered across Namibia. Not only had riders to content with stiff competition but also faced an onslaught by the elements in the form of extreme heat and dust.
Main sponsor, Hollard Namibia, said the Gravel and Dirt MTB Marathon Series is now established as one of the premier cycling events with thousands of cyclists taking part in any or all of the races.
The final results for the whole series are as follows, in descending order from first to third or second:
Junior Women Half Marathon – Laura Engling, Monique du Plessis, Lene du Plessis.
Junior Men Half Marathon – Bergran Jensen, Adrian Key, Anton Engling.
Open Women Half Marathon – Claudia Suren, Martina Gaike-Neuburg, Sandra Lippert.
Open Men Half Marathon – Marnus Lemmer, Roland Neuburg, Hugo Hahn.
Grand Master Men – Peter Sander, Hercules Viljoen, Bernhard Volkman.
Grand Master Women – Elke Jagua, Berrit Graf.
Master Women – Karen Brockmann, Kerstin Klein, Barbara Ackermann.
Master Men – Sarel Boshoff, Niels Serrer, Johann Liebenberg.
Rhino – Fana Lambert, Morne Honiball, Volker Engling.
Veteran Women – Irene Steyn, Johanita de Waal, Elanor Grassow.
Veteran Men – Clinton Hilfiker, Marcel Suren, Allan Vivier.
Sub Veteran Women – Courtney Liebenberg, Marguerita Maritz, Jeanne Heunis.
Sub Veteran Men – Ingram Cuff, Frederick Van Greunen, Jurgen Sander.
Elite Women – Marion Schonecke, Michelle Vorster, Michelle Doman.
Elite Men – Drikus Coetzee, Xavier Papo, Alex Miller.
Joining Hollard as complementary sponsors were Namibia Breweries Ltd, Kia Motors, Cymot, Mannie’s Bike Mecca, Food Lovers Market, Panamor Gel and E-Med Rescue 24.
Hollard committed to continue sponsoring the series for the next three years.
Caption: From the left, Johan Pretorius of Raceday Events, Irene Steyn, overall top female rider, Jaco Lamprecht, Chief Executive of main sponsor Hollard Namibia, Drikus Coetzee, overall top male rider and Axel Theissen, Chief Executive of complementary sponsor Cymot. (Photograph by Fotografika)
