Competing at her first UCI Road World Championships, 18-year-old Namibian Delsia Van Vuuren completed the junior women’s race in a time of 2:33:39, 24 minutes and 20 seconds behind Spaniard Paula Taco Ostiz who won the gold medal. The silver medal went to Chantal Pegolo from Italy.
Photos: Hee-Dee Walenga
The 74km course in the heart of Kigali, Rwanda proved to be a challenge not only for Van Vuuren, but for 14 other riders, who were unable to finish the race. Van Vuuren finished 57th out of a field of 72 riders representing 34 nations.
“It was such a hard race. One of the hardest races I have ever done,” Van Vuuren told The Villager after the race. Van Vuuren fought through cramps in the second last lap of the race. Van Vuuren went on to explain that her mental strength overpowered any physical challenges during the race.
The young rider revealed that she has a message of encouragement on the top tube of her bike that says, “You are never a loser until you quit trying. This is tough, but so am I.”
“Every time I started to suffer I thought about it, my parents, and everyone in my corner,” Van Vuuren explained.
Among the riders who did not finish was Namibia’s Rosemarie Thiel, who had to pull out of the race due to a mechanical issue with the chain on her bicycle. A disappointed and emotional Thiel told The Villager, “It’s a tough pill to swallow. We move on, next year is another chance.”
Despite the disappointment, Thiel took positives from the experience, stating that the experience will help her grow mentally and motivate her to work even harder for next year.
Overall, the young Team Namibia had mixed results at Africa’s first UCI Road World Championships. Of Namibia’s 5 person team, only 2 riders were able to complete their individual races. President of the Namibian Cycling Federation, Tauko Shilongo described the performance as “above board,” and emphasised that it was a learning experience for the young team.
Ethiopia’s Tsige Kiros put on an exceptional performance, finishing 7th. Kiros’ performance was the best of any African rider across all categories at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships at the time of writing.
