Team Pointbreak to challenge Nedbank Desert Dash.

Windhoek, Dec. 8 – – Flip de Bruyn and his family will this year attempt to complete the 373-kilometre bicycle race from Windhoek across the Khomas Hochland and the Namib Desert to Swakopmund in a mixed four-person team.

De Bruyn (58), who will race for the Nedbank-supported team Pointbreak, will be joined by his wife Angelique and two nephews, Cor and Jurie van Tonder. He says one of his all-time goals in cycling was to compete in the Nedbank Desert Dash. He last competed in the gruelling 24-hour event in 2013.

“So, it’s always good to have goals and, the Desert Dash is a tough one that a normal cycle race won’t provide. I am the oldest of the four team members so, if one can still cycle at my age, it keeps you going, fit and healthy,” he said.

He added that exercising is one of the most essential things in life because it keeps one healthy and as a family, and they selected the Nedbank Desert Dash to challenge their fitness levels, as well as to do something together. “Competing as a family will be special. We came together as a team after the initial members bailed out on me. So I called on the guys that I know and will be there,” he said. He explained that he wants to do something challenging, such as the Dash, as he sees no reason for keeping fit if he is not challenging himself. 

All the team members have done the Desert Dash before, but doing it as a family will be a different experience, said De Bruyn. This year “my two nephews will be doing the Dash for the fourth or fifth time, but for my wife and I, this will be our second time,” he said. 

The ardent cyclist, who works for Agra, said he completed his maiden Dash as a member of one of two Agra Teams in 2013 in 23 hours, but this year he has set a different goal for himself. “In 2013, Agra entered two teams, and the goal at that point was to just finish the race. We didn’t set high goals and this year we are not that young anymore, so to be realistic, if we can do the race in 21 or 22 hours, then we will be happy with that,” he said. 

The Pointbreak team is preparing for the race by cycling four times a week, with three of those being a 30km ride in a day. “We are trying to do 150km a week on both tarred and gravel roads because we want to be as close to reality as possible. Recently, we did 70km on the gravel road. We started at the top of Kupferberg and cycled to the Kuiseb River because there is no point in cycling on the tarred road all the time when the real thing will happen on the gravel road,” said De Bruyn. He said busy working schedules restrict a more rigorous preparation on gravel roads.

“The younger members are going to the gym and jogging during the week to keep fit, so it is a bit difficult to do off-road, but we always try to cycle at Heja Lodge individually. When we do the longer runs during the weekend, we try to do it as a team,” he concluded.

Nedbank sponsored Pointbreak’s registration fees for the competition, for which De Bruyn and his team are thankful. They will provide logistics themselves, including a support vehicle during the race.

Robert Maseka mrobert@namibiadailynews.info