By: Hee-Dee Walenga
The 2025 edition of the Tour de Windhoek took place from 31 July to 3 August in the nation’s capital, making history along the way.
Initially scheduled for February of this year, the 8th edition of the tour was rescheduled for August due to the passing of Namibia’s Founding President, Sam Nujoma.
This year’s edition of the Tour de Windhoek was historic in that it became the first women’s road cycling race to have Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) certification on African soil, marking a significant milestone not just for women’s cycling in Africa, but cycling as a whole on the continent.
On the women’s side of the tour, the east African riders of Kenyan-based Team Amani put on a dominant display across all four stages. Xaverine Nirere, who hails from Rwanda, walked away with the yellow jersey with a final time of 07:18:42. Nirere finished almost a full ten minutes ahead of second place – which was her teammate – Merhawit Asgodom, from Ethiopia. Third place in the women’s category also went to fellow Team Amani rider, Serkalem Watango, from Ethiopia as well.
Speaking to The Villager after the final stage, Nirere expressed, “I’m so excited to win this race. It was not easy. Our team did very well. This title is very important for my career.” She also stated that she enjoyed riding in Namibia due to the mixture of hills and flats.
The Queen of the Mountain/Polka Dot Jersey and Best U23 Rider/White Jersey went to Asgodom. Team Amani won the overall team category as well, followed by South African teams Pirtek Customised Cycling and Cycle Nation Enza Construction. Namibia’s Anri Greef finished as Namibia’s best rider, earning the blue jersey.
Speaking to The Villager, President of the Namibian Cycling Federation, Tauko Shilongo stated, “The race was a huge success. It shows what Namibia can do in regard to sports.” Shilongo also expressed joy over the fact that it was the first time Namibia was able to field a national women’s team. The Namibian team consisted of Anri Greef (captain), Olivia Shililifa, Jaen-Marie Mostert, Nicola Sauber, and Marissa Mouton.
On the men’s side, Namibia’s Drikus Coetzee won his third Tour de Windhoek title with relative ease. “I expected a bit of a challenge attack-wise from the rivals. I felt extremely good. It was quite an easy stage to the end,” Coetzee stated. The seemingly never-tiring Coetzee also won the King of the Mountain/Polka Dot Jersey and Best Namibian Rider/Blue Jersey.
Second and third places went to Christian van Rensburg and Roger Suren, both Namibians. The young Suren also won the Best U23 Rider/White Jersey. Petro de Luanda from Angola won the overall team award, followed by fellow Angolans JT 300. Namibian side Mannie’s Bike Mecca won the bronze.
Next on the Namibian cycling calendar is the Khomas 100, another UCI-certified event, taking place on 23 August 2025.
