NCCS gears up for Desert Dash

Limba Mupetami







WINDHOEK

A four- as well as a two-man team from the NCCS Pupkewitz Pro Cycling Club have undergone tremendous training to prepare for the Nedbank Desert Dash, which will take place this Friday and Saturday.

The four-man team consists of Brandon Plaatjies, Makenzy Eiseb, Fiffy Kashululu and Denzel de Koe, while the two-man team is made up of Lotto Petrus and Jan Motja.

The Dash, which will be held for the 16th consecutive year and for the sixth year with Nedbank as the title sponsor, is the longest single-stage mountain bike race in the world, covering 373km from Windhoek to Swakopmund.

The athletes will be expected to cycle over the Khomas Hochland Mountains and through the Namib Desert to their final destination.

Limited sponsorship

While the coronavirus pandemic shrouded the event in uncertainty earlier this year, the organisers have managed to host the iconic race with just over 1 000 cyclists competing this year.

At the launch of the race in October, it was confirmed that 212 solo cyclists will take part, 18 of whom are women, while 126 two-person teams and 134 four-person teams have entered.

Meanwhile, international cyclists will make up 35% of the overall total.

NCCS’ Eben Ezer said they have prepared well for the race, despite being challenged by limited sponsorship due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“However, we will try to do our best with what we have on our disposal,” he said.