The Namib Quest

Isaac Chikosi

The Namib Quest Mountain Bike Challenge with the Namibia Breweries as the main sponsor is regarded as one of the most gruelling mountain bike races in the world since its inception in 2011.

It was no different on Sunday when about 40 participants lined up for the start of the six-day stage race. It was a 450-kilometre race from Windhoek to Swakopmund via the Khomas Hochland and the Namib Desert with the daily shifts of 71 km, 48 km, 102 km, 87 km, 64 km and the longest ending 148 km.
Winners in the team categories received cash prizes of N$20 000 and the solo categories N$10 000 each.
The solo winner of the Windhoek Light Namib Quest was Vanni Balboni from Italy in a time of 21 hours, 07 minutes with Nicola Fester the solo women’s winner in a time of 22 hours and 16 minutes. Both riders received the winning price of N$10 000.00
The winner of the men’s team category was Xavier Papo and Clinton Hilfiker from team Hollard 20 hours, 18 minutes and 59 seconds with Louise Ferreia and Courtney Liebenberg from Team Hollard were the female team category winners.
The mixed team category winners were Team Bold and the Beautiful, consisting of Johann Fourie and Irene Steyn.
The complete list in the various categories:
SOLO MANS
1 Vanni Balboni (Italy) 21:07:58
2 Sven Strohmenger 23:23:16
3 Christian Stalder (Switzerland) 25:49:36
SOLO WOMEN
1 Nicola Fester 27:16:56
2 Maroshell Odendaal (RSA) 31:09:07
MEN’S TEAMS
1 Hollard (Xavier Papo and Clinton Hilfiker) 20:18:59
2 Cycledelic (Heinrich Köhne and Ananias Tamati) 21:40:50
3 Four Brothers (Bertus Odendaal and Raymond Odendaal, RSA) 22:16:50
4 Quest Attack (Pierre Lambert and JD Engels) 23:34:06
5 Die Basters (Stefanus Feris and Theo Klein) 25:36:57
6 Desert Crawlers (Marnus Lemmer and Jan van Blerk) 28:35:11
7 Forklift & Allied (Sven Tegethoff and Klaus Papendieck) 30:52:20
8 Weekend Warriors (Christiaan Horn and Danie Small) 31:45:50
Vianney Links and Brandon Stiger received individual medals as finishers, although their respective team mates Tuhafeni Hamundjebo and Flippy de Klerk couldn’t finish some of the stages.
WOMEN’S TEAMS
1 Team Cymot (Louise Ferreira and Courtney Liebenberg) 24:45:15
2 Raceday Girls (Jolynde Aucamp and Johanita de Waal) 26:11:39
3 Blue Bloods (Anri Parker and Wanda Tattersall) 27:13:43
MIXED TEAMS
1 The Bold and the Beautiful (Johan Fourie and Irene Steyn) 23:33:11
2 Cymot Scott Mixed (Sandra Lippert and Axel Theissen) 26:59:39
3 Swazi Frontier (Brett Foss and Lesley Waterfall, eSwatini) 29:14:07
4 NBL Soul Partners (George Thiele and Daleen Steyn) 29:23:58