Nedbank Desert Dash 2022 entries open
Dash returns for the 18th year
Preparations for yet another Dash are underway as some of the world's toughest mountain bike riders seek glory in December.
Sport Reporter
Entries are now open for the 2022 Nedbank Desert Dash, Namibia’s most gruelling mountain bike competition.
The Dash returns for its 18th consecutive year when it starts in only a few months.
Nedbank is sponsoring the event for the eighth year in a row and cyclists will once again take centre stage in the longest single-stage mountain bike race in the world between 9 and 10 December 2022.
The race covers 393 km.
The Dash will start at the Grove Mall in Windhoek and conclude in Swakopmund at the Platz Am Meer Mall. The route will take cyclists via the Khomas Hochland mountains and through the Namib Desert to the Atlantic coast.
On Friday, 9 December, the solo riders will be the first to depart, at 14:30, followed by two-person teams at 15:00 and the four-person teams starting their race at 15:30.
Enter now
Registration for the solo riders’ category for the 2022 edition of the Nedbank Desert Dash opened yesterday.
The two-person teams (women, men and mixed) can enter as of 13 June and the four-person team registrations open on 20 June at 10:00.
The registration fee for the solo category for men and women is N$3 500 per person.
The entry fee for the two-person team (woman, men, mixed) is N$6 500 per team, and registration for the four-person team (woman, men, mixed) IS N$12 000.
So close
In 2021, Namibian cyclist Tristan de Lange was crowned champion of the men’s solo category when he beat six-time Nedbank Desert Dash winner Konny Looser in a photo finish after 14 hours and 55 minutes of riding. Looser was 30 seconds behind De Lange.
The women’s category was won by Irene Steyn, after 19 hours and 25 minutes and 43 seconds of riding.
The 2021 Dash attracted cyclists from Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Germany, Portugal, the United States of America and Switzerland.
Nedbank Namibia’s marketing and communications head, Gernot de Klerk, said since acquiring ownership of the race, Nedbank Namibia has invested well over N$9 million.
“The Nedbank Desert Dash is an iconic event and considered by many, who have either completed the race or intend to tackle it, as a bucket-list challenge. It is also the icing on the cake of Nedbank Namibia’s complete cycling portfolio, which includes legendary local races like the Nedbank Cycle Challenge (our country’s oldest competitive cycling race), as well as international events hosted on Namibian shores,” he said.
Many win
De Klerk added that the real value, however, is unlocked through the ancillary services that the Dash has always enabled.
“Servicing of bicycles to ensure that the equipment for the arduous race is in tip-top shape, hiring back-up vehicles for support drivers, sustenance and support for the participants along the 393 km long route, flights and accommodation for international riders, who always extend their stay in the country, restaurants in Windhoek and Swakopmund filled to capacity, and celebrating the natural beauty of our country are all elements that contribute to the legacy of the Nedbank Desert Dash,” De Klerk underlined.
He added that the challenges of organising such a mega event are plentiful, but their organising teams have done an amazing job year on year to have the race hosted as safely as possible.
Entries are now open for the 2022 Nedbank Desert Dash, Namibia’s most gruelling mountain bike competition.
The Dash returns for its 18th consecutive year when it starts in only a few months.
Nedbank is sponsoring the event for the eighth year in a row and cyclists will once again take centre stage in the longest single-stage mountain bike race in the world between 9 and 10 December 2022.
The race covers 393 km.
The Dash will start at the Grove Mall in Windhoek and conclude in Swakopmund at the Platz Am Meer Mall. The route will take cyclists via the Khomas Hochland mountains and through the Namib Desert to the Atlantic coast.
On Friday, 9 December, the solo riders will be the first to depart, at 14:30, followed by two-person teams at 15:00 and the four-person teams starting their race at 15:30.
Enter now
Registration for the solo riders’ category for the 2022 edition of the Nedbank Desert Dash opened yesterday.
The two-person teams (women, men and mixed) can enter as of 13 June and the four-person team registrations open on 20 June at 10:00.
The registration fee for the solo category for men and women is N$3 500 per person.
The entry fee for the two-person team (woman, men, mixed) is N$6 500 per team, and registration for the four-person team (woman, men, mixed) IS N$12 000.
So close
In 2021, Namibian cyclist Tristan de Lange was crowned champion of the men’s solo category when he beat six-time Nedbank Desert Dash winner Konny Looser in a photo finish after 14 hours and 55 minutes of riding. Looser was 30 seconds behind De Lange.
The women’s category was won by Irene Steyn, after 19 hours and 25 minutes and 43 seconds of riding.
The 2021 Dash attracted cyclists from Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Germany, Portugal, the United States of America and Switzerland.
Nedbank Namibia’s marketing and communications head, Gernot de Klerk, said since acquiring ownership of the race, Nedbank Namibia has invested well over N$9 million.
“The Nedbank Desert Dash is an iconic event and considered by many, who have either completed the race or intend to tackle it, as a bucket-list challenge. It is also the icing on the cake of Nedbank Namibia’s complete cycling portfolio, which includes legendary local races like the Nedbank Cycle Challenge (our country’s oldest competitive cycling race), as well as international events hosted on Namibian shores,” he said.
Many win
De Klerk added that the real value, however, is unlocked through the ancillary services that the Dash has always enabled.
“Servicing of bicycles to ensure that the equipment for the arduous race is in tip-top shape, hiring back-up vehicles for support drivers, sustenance and support for the participants along the 393 km long route, flights and accommodation for international riders, who always extend their stay in the country, restaurants in Windhoek and Swakopmund filled to capacity, and celebrating the natural beauty of our country are all elements that contribute to the legacy of the Nedbank Desert Dash,” De Klerk underlined.
He added that the challenges of organising such a mega event are plentiful, but their organising teams have done an amazing job year on year to have the race hosted as safely as possible.
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