By: Hee-Dee Walenga
Roger Surén is an 18-year-old Namibian road and mountain biker who recently made headlines by signing to one of the world’s premier cycling teams, Alpecin-Premier Tech, officially making him a professional cyclist.
Surén follows in the footsteps of the likes of Dan Craven, Alex Miller, and Vera Looser, all Namibian cyclists who have gone pro and represented Namibia on the world’s biggest sporting stages, such as the Olympics.
Surén’s signing is no small feat. Alpecin, based in Belgium, has over 20 riders on its roster, including former world champion Mathieu “The Flying Dutchman” van der Poel. Surén is the only African rider on their star-studded roster, signifying the young Namibian’s world-class talent.
“I am their first African rider, it’s something very special,” expressed Surén.
In an exclusive interview with Eagle FM, Surén explained that he grew up as a multi-sport athlete, taking part in soccer and swimming. He started cycling in the first grade, after watching a friend cycle.
“It all started with a small BMX bike. I was really happy on the bike and it was something I always looked forward to,” he explained. On the question of what he loves about cycling, Surén stated that he feels a sense of freedom on the bicycle.
In 2024, Surén had a race in Switzerland in unfamiliar muddy conditions where he struggled and made uncharacteristic mistakes. Whilst doing his post race analysis, he realised that he achieved power numbers that he ordinarily did not reach. “It wasn’t my best race, but I had a big mind shift. I saw that digging that deep is actually great. That mind shift stayed with me from that moment,” the phenom remarked.
Surén is the current Namibian National Road Champion, beating Olympian Alex Miller in an exciting sprint finish. Surén indicated that he looked up to Miller, saying “He always set the benchmark. Watching him was a big motivation. Beating him at the National Championships was a mixed feeling.”
Surén made international headlines when he won a silver medal in the Junior Men’s Cross Country Olympic (XCO) race at the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Mountain Bike World Championships in Valais, Switzerland in September of last year. He became the first Namibian to win a medal at the UCI World Championships, and the first African cyclist to win a medal in the junior men’s category.
The World Championships proved to be a catalytic event for Surén. The day after the race, the Roodhooft brothers, Christoph and Philip, who own and manage the Alpecin-Premier Tech cycling team, approached Surén for opening discussions. The team sent Surén a proposal via email a month later whilst he was competing at the Road World Championships in Rwanda. A few months later, he put pen to paper and became a professional cyclist.
President of the Namibian Cycling Federation, Tauko Shilongo, described Surén’s turning professional as, “Long over due; the boy has been working hard, he has put Namibia on the map.”
Surén has been representing Namibia on the bicycle since he was 10 years old.
