Miller, Van Schoor win Tour de Windhoek

Alex Miller of King Price Racing and Kelsey Jade van Schoor of Team Pirtek Hollard won the elite men and women’s titles at the Pupkewitz Megabuild Tour de Windhoek that concluded yesterday.

It was the first time that Miller had competed in the Tour de Windhoek since he came fourth four years ago.

He subsequently went on to compete professionally on the European mountain bike circuit but now on his return underlined his dominance on the road bike as well, with a commanding win from the start of the four-day tour.

On Thursday he immediately took a commanding lead when he won the opening individual time trial, finishing 43 seconds ahead of Christiaan van der Westhuizen of Team Hollard Elite.

The next day he all but sealed his tour victory with an awesome ride on the 85km Dordabis road stage when he finished nearly two minutes ahead of Theuns van der Westhuizen of Hollard Elite, while he stretched his lead even further after winning the third stage, the Finkenstein Loops on Saturday.

Yesterday’s final stage over 92km on the new airport road was won by Marco Thiel of King Price Racing, but Miller finished safely among the leaders in the final bunch sprint to win the title in an overall time of 8:08:16, with Theuns coming second more than three minutes behind in 8:11:36, while Ernest Roets of King Price Racing came third in 8:12:18.

They were followed by Christiaan of Hollard Elite (8:12:44) and Kilson Rodrigues of the Angolan team JT300 (8:12:57).

Theuns won the under-23 men’s title, followed by Roets and Christiaan.

Miller says it was a great feeling to win the Tour de Windhoek but was quick to praise his team, as well as the sponsors for their support.

“It feels super good to take the yellow jersey and also take the polka dot and the green jersey, but the jerseys belong to my team as much as they do to me. It’s always nice to be able to ride in a team and to have teammates who can control the pace and cover attacks.

“People always see the one person in the yellow jersey at the top of the podium, but in a road race, it’s a lot more about the team and they don’t see the other people behind it. So, yes, a big thanks to them and a big thanks to King Price for making it possible for us,” he says.

“It’s always a privilege to come here, not just for the Tour de Windhoek, I mean, they also support me in Europe when I’m racing, so as a Namibian company, having that support behind me, it’s super special,” he adds.

“Also to Megabuild Pupkewitz and all the organisers, they invest a lot in the sport to make this tour possible so it’s really special,” he said.

SECOND TITLE FOR VAN SCHOOR

Van Schoor won the Tour de Windhoek for the second time following her debut title in 2024.

She took the lead from the start, building up a 14-second lead over teammate Anri Greeff and Lize-Ann Louw of the Tshenolo Women Pro Cycling Team on the opening individual time trial.

On the second stage the leaders remained together but the decisive break came on the third Finkenstein Loops stage on Saturday when Van Schoor andf Greeff broke away early on to eventually finish nearly ten minutes ahead of the chasing pack.

Yesterday’s final stage finished in a bunch sprint with Van Schoor winning the title with an overall time of 7:38:36, while Greeff came second in 7:38:50 and Louw third in 7:47:47.

They were followed by Liezel Jordaan of Pirtek Hollard (7:48:23) and Danika Lombard of Pirtek Hollard (7:50:38).

Lombard won the under-23 women’s title followed by Rosemarie Thiel of Cymot Ladies in 7:54:46.

Van Schoor also paid tribute to her team mates.

“I’m really happy, but honestly it wouldn’t be possible without all of my teammates, because every single one of them played a massive role in this and – we managed to pull off all the leaders’ jerseys, which was pretty cool,” she says.

“I love Namibia and I love the people here, everyone is so friendly, so winning this again is super special,” she adds.

The final results are attached.

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