Khomas100: ‘Brutal, but beautiful’ 

Alex Miller and Vera Looser were crowned Namibia’s inaugural gravel bike champions after great performances in extremely hot conditions in the Khomas100 on Saturday.

Miller was the clear winner of the men’s 143km race between Windhoek and the Khomas Hochland hills to Gross Barmen, finishing in four hours 33 minutes 44 seconds, with Drikus Coetzee following more than three minutes behind in second place with 4:37:11.

Jaques Hanekom came third, more than 18 minutes behind in 4:55:17, after beating Gareth Jooste by 10 seconds to the bronze medal.

“It was hard and hot,” Miller said after the race.

“The course was good, it was rough, but that’s what gravel bike racing is all about, so I want to thank the organisers for all the work they put in, and I’m happy to get the win,” he said.

Coetzee said he was satisfied with finishing second.

“It was a good race – I knew it was going to be a challenge against Alex, so I did what I wanted to do and rode at my own pace. I’m very happy with second place, it was a good result.

“Well done to Alex, I think he’s going to be a very good representative of the jersey,” he said.

Miller won N$25 000 as the elite male winner, as well as N$10 000 in accommodation vouchers from Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR), and a further N$5 000 in Cycletec vouchers after also winning the King of the Mountain stage.

Besides that he will also be eligible to represent Namibia at the 2025 UCI Gravel World Championships in Nice, France, next October.

The elite women’s race was a thriller with Looser and Anri Greeff racing neck and neck from start to finish.

Greeff pipped Looser to the Queen of the Mountain stage, but Looser won the final sprint, edging Greeff by a few centimetres to the line as both cyclists completed the race in 5:22:15, with Nina Holtrup finishing third just over 10 minutes behind in 5:32:20.

Looser said it was “brutal but beautiful”.

“This was my first real gravel race, and this must be one of the hardest races out there.

“It doesn’t look so hard on paper, but the steep rollers just kill you. Starting at almost 2 000m altitude and racing in 35 degrees’ heat was brutal, but it’s also so beautiful, so it’s stunning and I love Namibia,” she said.

Greeff congratulated Looser on the win, but said she would be back next year.

“We worked well together, and it’s always fair in the sprint at the finish,” she said.

Looser won N$25 000 in prize money sponsored by Hollard, and N$10 000 in accommodation vouchers from NWR, while Greeff won N$5 000 in Cycletec vouchers as the Queen of the Mountain winner.

Looser will also be able to represent Namibia in Nice next year.

Namibia’s top junior riders dominated the 84km race, with Marco Thiel (2:36:11) edging Roger Suren (2:36:12) in the men’s race, and Sean Lowe coming third (2:36:25), while Delsia Janse van Vuuren won the women’s race in 3:11:56, followed by Rosemarie Thiel (3:12:03) and Michelle Doman (3:12:57).

Junior riders also dominated the 43km race with Micah Chase beating Theodor Janse van Rensburg in a sprint to the line in the men’s race, with both finishing in 1:44:20, while Francois van Zyl came third in 1:45:59.

Qara Volschenk was a comprehensive winner in the women’s race in 2:03:39, followed by Joadri de Beer (2:16:16) and Marlene Reichel (2:17:58).

Race organiser Anri Parker said it was a huge success.

“We received great feedback from the riders, while Hollard has already offered to sponsor the event for the next three years. NWR has also asked if it can host it again next year – Gross Barmen was a very popular venue and attracted more than 1 500 day visitors,” she said.