Surén and Greeff rise to the top at Nedbank Nationals

Road cycling
Roger Surén stunned the accomplished Alex Miller in a sprint finish to claiming both the elite and U23 titles
Brian Munango
  • 14 Hours Ago

The 2026 Nedbank Namibian National Cycling Championships delivered thrilling action as top cyclists battled for national glory across both the individual time trial (ITT) and road race disciplines on the roads east of Windhoek.

In Sunday’s elite men’s 165 km road race, 18-year-old prodigy Roger Surén stunned the favourite and three-time champion Alex Miller (2025, 2025 and 2019) in a sprint finish, claiming both the elite and U23 titles with a time of 4 hours and 02 seconds.

Miller (age 25) finished with the same official time, while Martin Freyer (4:00:42) and Theuns van der Westhuizen (4:00:43) completed the top four. Tristan de Lange crossed the line fifth (4:13:21).

Surén’s achievements as a mountain biker is already common knowledge after he made Namibian history with a UCI junior world championship silver medal in Switzerland last year. He expects to ride quite a number of races in Europe this year.

Surén told the media post-race: “We started in the rain, which was unusual after a mostly dry week. Reaching Dordabis my legs did not feel that great, but on the way back I started feeling better and better.

“The wind made attacks difficult, but I positioned myself well. Alex and I were at the front by a margin of about 80 or 90 seconds over the last three or four kilometres. And then I timed my final sprint perfectly.”

Although replays may suggest that Miller did not deliver the most desperate of fights for the finish line in his bid for a third successive title, the two-time Olympian and current professional mountain biker paid full tribute to his young counterpart.

At the suggestion he may have yielded at the last moment as a sign of respect to the up-and-coming prodigy, Miller replied in a group chat: “You obviously haven’t done a sprint against Roger! He took a well-deserved win (salute emoji).”

 

Anri’s double-double

In the elite women’s 114 km race, Anri Greeff completed her national double for the second year in a row (both time trial and road race).

Greeff finished the road race in 3:09:21, ahead of Delsia Janse van Vuuren (3:14:13) and Belinda van Rhyn (3:17:06) in a race without 11-time champion Vera Looser, who was in action at the Tankwa Trek.

“I got away earlier than I intended and then focused on maintaining my lead. The hills, which never seemed to end, and the wind made it a real challenge, but it worked out,” Greeff said afterwards.

Looking forward, Greeff says she is nervously excited for her Absa Cape Epic debut in March, with South Africa’s Kelsey van Schoor as her partner.

The junior women’s road race was won by Rosemarie Thiel (2:26:28) for the second year in a row, with Bianca Nell second (3:05:22).

 

FULL CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS (ROAD RACE)

 

Elite & U23 Men (165 km)

1 Roger Surén (U23) 4:00:02

2 Alex Miller 4:00:02

3 Martin Freyer 4:00:42

4 Theuns van der Westhuizen 4:00:43

5 Tristan de Lange 4:13:21

 

Elite & U23 Women (114 km)

1 Anri Greeff 3:09:21

2 Delsia Janse van Vuuren (U23) 3:14:13

3 Belinda van Rhyn 3:17:06

 

Junior Women (80 km)

1 Rosemarie Thiel 2:26:28

2 Bianca Nell 3:05:22

 

Junior Men (114 km)

1 Marco Thiel 2:57:05

2 Christiaan van der Westhuizen 2:57:05

3 Sean Lowe 2:57:29

4 Mike Baartman 2:57:32

 

INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIALS

After two silver medals eight years apart (2018 and 2025), Martin Freyer finally secured the coveted elite men’s time trial title. The 30-year-old completed the 42 km course in 56:14, more than two minutes ahead of his nearest rival.

“It’s incredible to finally win this title after coming so close twice before,” Freyer said.

Jaques Hanekom took silver in 58:11, while Adrian Key earned his first major national medal since joining the elite category with a bronze (1:00:00). Former Olympian Tristan de Lange placed fourth (1:02:00).

In the elite women’s ITT, Anri Greeff successfully defended her title for the second consecutive year, completing the 28 km course in 41:56. Delsia Janse van Vuuren (44:42) secured her first U23 champion jersey, followed by Monique du Plessis (45:41) and Belinda van Rhyn (46:02). The U23 rider Maja Brinkmann finished fifth (46:25).

In the UCI junior categories, Rosemarie Thiel was the only entrant in the junior female 14 km claiming the title with a time of 22:23.

The junior male 28 km TT saw Nathan Chase take gold in 38:50, followed by Sean Lowe (39:11), Marco Thiel (39:23), Christiaan van der Westhuizen (40:27), Theodor Janse van Vuuren (40:37) and Mike Baartman (40:41).