Costa outclasses rivals

Costa Seibeb overcame numerous setbacks to claim the 75 kilometre NedBank Cycle Challenge in a time of 1 hour, 54 minutes and 48 seconds over the weekend.

Seibeb’s victory is remarkable considering the 20-year-old had his bicycle for just a month after it was stolen nearly two years ago.

The fact that Seibeb crossed the line ahead of his nearest rivals shows his determination to win the race, something he did by showing heels to favourites like Mannie Heymans, Heinrich Kohne, Michael Pretorius, Johan Fourie, Jacques Celliers, Ingram Cuff, Tjipe Murangi and Paddy Murphy.

“I dreamt the day before the competition that I’ll win this event,” said Seibeb.

His journey on the bicycle scene started in 2010 when Seibeb first took part in a 35 km event, which he duly won.

Shortly thereafter, though, his bike was stolen which meant the young man was kept on the sidelines for two years until his bike was recovered in Katutura last month.

“I started training on my bike in the second week of January and participated in two Windhoek Pedal Power races as well as Dan Craven’s training camp in preparation for this race,” he explained.

Although Seibeb’s victory was sweet in the end, he still had to overcome another daunting obstacle.

The young rider had opened a gap on the Daan Viljoen road after breaking away from the leading pack and was adding to his lead with every passing second.

However, less than ten minutes later Seibeb’s bike had a flat tyre, which threatened to end his race prematurely.

“I almost started crying as the leading pack all passed me. Luckily my teammate Heiko Diehl came along and gave me one of his wheels to replace my flat back wheel. Thereafter, I managed to quickly reel in the leading pack,” he said of his sensational recovery.

After again breaking away from the leading pack, Seibeb began to tire near the finish line but managed to hold on to win, a mere two seconds ahead of Kohne.

Pretorius, meanwhile, claimed third place in the 75 km category, a further second behind Kohne, in what turned out to be a fascinating race.

Other winners included Wilma van Niekerk, who won the Women’s 75 km category, Kai-Uwe Brettschneider, who claimed the Men’s 35 km category while Magriet Coetzee did likewise in the women’s 35 km division.

Gerhard Cornelissen and Liesl Lepen won the Men’s and Women’s 20 km category respectively while veteran rider Heymans proved supreme in the 37 km Mountain Bike competition on Saturday.

Genevieve Weber duplicated Heymans in the Women’s division of the same event also on Saturday, with other winners on the day being Tristan de Lange (Men’s 15 km Mountain Bike) and Vera Adrian (Women’s 15 km Mountain Bike).

Meanwhile, the inspirational Seibeb left for South Africa yesterday, where he will join Till Drobisch at the Potchefstroom Bike Centre.

Training sessions and related activities at the Centre have already started on February 1, but Craven was able to put in a good word which allowed Seibeb to join now.

click to enlarge DETERMINED: Costa Seibeb on his way to winning the 75 km NedBank Cycle Challenge © NAMIBIASPORT