• Cycling

Looser greets RSA with a win in Limpopo

• 8 Hours Ago

Vera Looser of Namibia, who recently became the African continental marathon mountain biking champion, made a statement in her debut in the 2025 Ford Trailseeker series, taking the win at race number four – at Sondela Nature Reserve in Limpopo – on Saturday.

Looser broke away clean early in the 70 km race and powered ahead, riding solo to reach the finish line in 2 hours 35 minutes 31 minutes.

The series leader Bianca Haw (RSA) followed in second in a strong 2:37:53, while it was a nail-biting sprint for third. Danielle du Toit just edged out Sam Sanders to grab the podium spot in 2:42:32.

The women’s field was stacked and the racing was indeed fierce.

Both series leaders Marco Joubert and Bianca Haw were here to extend their leads, with Marco going for his fourth consecutive win. With a R1 million performance bonus on the line should he claim all six titles, the stakes were high and the racing was full gas!

Joubert was right up there until a puncture with just 4km to go took him out of contention for the million rand performance bonus.

The elite men brought the heat, with Johan de Villiers (RSA) taking the win by the narrowest of margins in a nail-biting sprint finish, with 2:18:18 on the clock.

Right behind him were compatriots Jaedon Terlouw (seconnd) and Arno du Toit (third), both crossing in the same time in an all-out sprint to the line.

On her social media, Looser responded: “What a day, what a bike, what a jersey! And racing with these ladies!

“Took my freshly designed African champion jersey out for a fast bike race in the bosveld yesterday! Thank you, @trailseekerseriesmtb, for a world-class organised race. Always a pleasure to race in South Africa.

“I'm heading back towards summer (in Europe) today.

“Next race? Let's see if I can find a last-minute partner for the Andorra Epic.”

Looser won the African continental marathon mountain biking championship convincingly in Pietermaritzburg the previous week (18 June).