Nedbank Rock and Rut on this weekend
The 2022 Nedbank Rock & Rut XC1 UCI C1 and UCI Junior Series XCO are taking place on Saturday, 9 April, at the IJG Trails in Kleine Kuppe.
With categories ranging from Under 12 to Grand Masters, cyclists will clash on the rocky uneven terrain for top honours. The second round of the XC cycling series in collaboration with the Rock & Rut Mountain Bike Club is a national race that will give competitors the chance to test their technical skills against fellow riders.
The significance of this round of the XC Series is that it will feature Namibian and international cyclists, who will compete to garner Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) points for boosting their world rankings which are key determinants for cyclists to compete in international events like the Olympics. The UCI categories for this race are however for Junior and Under 23, and Elite cyclists only.
This race will be graced by a number of international cyclists including, the 2017 Junior World Champion, Cameron Wright from Australia, and the 2018 South African XCO Champion, Mariske Strauss. Alex Miller, Xavier Papo, Hugo Hahn, Kevin Lowe, Monique du Plessis, Courtney Liebenberg, and Ada Kahl; are some of the ardent Namibian cyclists who will take part in the UCI sanctioned races in hopes of amassing UCI points.
With over 90 cyclists already registered for the race, the deadline for the registration of UCI cyclists is Friday, 8 April. Cyclists who will not be taking part in the UCI races can register online and on Saturday, 9 April at the venue.
Nedbank Namibia Communications and PR Manager, Selma Kaulinge said that Nedbank Namibia is a proud sponsor of the Rock & Rut XC Mountain Bike Series, “Races like the Nedbank Rock & Rut XC Series helps our Namibian cyclists prepare for the world stage, and with the Africa Continental Mountain Bike Championships taking place in Namibia on 22 and 23 April, this weekends race is the perfect opportunity for them to test out the tracks.”
The next XC race in the series will take place on 7 May at the IJG Trails. Interested cyclists can register for the races by visiting www.rockandrut.org.
