Sweet redemption for Looser, van Rhyn at 2023 Nedbank Desert Dash
By Adolf Kaure.
Over 1000 cyclists raced to the finish line as the nineteenth edition of the Nedbank Desert Dash took place from 8 to 9 December.
The race which started in Windhoek, covered a gruelling 397km through the Namib Desert ending Swakopmund.
Konny Looser won the men’s solo race clocking a time of 14:52:16.
Having secured a disappointing second place finish last year with a much slower time (15: 38:53), it was a moment of redemption for Looser as he upped the stakes to reclaim his title.
Looser has now won the Nedbank Desert Dash for unprecedented seven times, six of them in a row.
South Africa’s Dusty Day came in second clocking a time of 16:02:01.427, followed by his countryman, Marc Pritzen (16:02:33.795).
It was a moment of jubilation for Namibia’s Belinda van Rhyn (18:47:40.466), who won the women’s solo race a year after finishing third.
Germany’s Nina Holtrup (19:13:19.019) and South Africa’s Rebecca Van Huyssteen (19:50:48.092) took second and third place respectively.
Nedbank Namibia’s Chief Risk Officer, Annette Stafford-Evans thanked all who contributed to the overall success of the event and the participants for braving the Namib Desert.
“To those standing on the podium today, this is no small feat for a race of this nature. To all the cyclists who finished this race, merely finishing is also an achievement in itself and it shows your tenacity,” she said.
The other categories which cyclists participated in were the teams of two and teams of four as well as the half dash and the E-bikes.
