Young cyclists in fine form 

Namibia’s upcoming young mountain bike riders Roger Suren and Delsia Janse van Vuuren were in fine form at the World MTB Championships in Andorra on Saturday with Suren finishing 19th amongst the junior men, while Janse van Vuuren came 49th amongst the junior women. 

The junior mens race was won by Albert Philipsen of Denmark in one hour 1 one minute and 59 seconds, with Hugo Franco Gallego of Spain coming second, 1:55 behind, while Nikolaj Hougs of Denmark came third, a further second behind. 

Suren got off to a fast start and was lying 12th at a stage on the first lap, but he gradually dropped down the field to 28th position. 

Suren, however, made his way up the field and pulled out all the stops on the final lap as he passed four riders to eventually finish 19th overall. Suren completed the five-lap race in 1:07:25, which was 5:26 behind the winner. 

Suren was also the first African over the line, beating Samuel Cleary of South Africa who came 32nd in 1:09:27, while another South African, Omar Wilson came 61st after being lapped and pulled off. A total of 79 riders completed the race while six did not finish.

The junior women’s race was won by Viktoria Chladonova of Slovakia in one hour one minute and 24 seconds, with Rafaelle Carrier of Canada finishing 36 seconds behind to win the silver medal, while Marusa Serkezi of Slovakia came third in 1:02:55. 

Janse van Vuuren finished 49th overall in 1:16:32, or 15 minutes and eight seconds behind the winner. 

Janse van Vuuren was also the first African over the line, with South Africa’s Jodi Mackinnon following in 51st place, after being lapped and pulled off.

A total of 57 riders completed the race, while one rider did not finish.