Race leaders Hank McGregor and Jenna Nisbet each overcame drama on the technical second stage from Delsma and Bridgetown to retain their leads within the Berg River Canoe Marathon.
McGregor began with a slim lead over Under 23 Uli Hart, and they labored properly collectively to maintain chasers Simon van Gysen and Wayne Jacobs at bay, racing on river degree on a second consecutive day of heat, windless mid-winter climate situations.
McGregor leads Berg River Canoe Marathon
However the thick timber blocks that characterised the 48 kilometre stage to the headwaters of Misverstand dam allowed McGregor and Hart to get away on the entrance, with McGregor successful the Virgin Active bridge prize at Gouda.
John Hishin/
Gameplan Media
However, at Ysterpen the pair encountered a large tree block and took very completely different traces to cope with it. While Hart struggled to get below the timber, McGregor ran to the financial institution to portage across the tree block, and as soon as he returned to the river he didn’t know the place Hart was.
“I took the chance and portaged and fell into the river because the bank was so steep,” mentioned McGregor.
“After taking a swim I just started to chase because I thought I was about two minutes behind. On the long straights I timed it and I couldn’t see him.
“I was just hoping for the best, hoping that he was behind me. I only knew when I came across the line that I had won the stage.
“That’s the Berg,” he added. “It’s never over till it’s over.”
The ever-consistent van Gysen raced a lot of the stage alone and consolidated his third place forward of the decided Jacobs.
Nisbet in command of girls’s race
Jenna Nisbet began the ladies’s race with a 3 minute lead over defending champion Nikki Birkett, however wanted to maintain calm as she noticed that lead erased in a second of excessive drama at a tree block early on within the stage.
Photo: John Hishin/
Gameplan Media
“When I got to the first tree block I did exactly what I shouldn’t have done and messed it up,” mentioned Nisbet.
“I managed to follow Graeme Solomon and Robbie Herreveld, who caught me at the tree block, and I followed them for the next seven kilokmetres.
“Then I got stuck in a tree block and Nikki Birkett came past me running a portage on the side, and I panicked a bit,” mentioned Nisbet.
“I had to stay calm and when I got to Gouda bridge I heard that she was two minutes behind. I was cautious in the section from Gouda to Train Bridge because I haven’t checked it out before, but after Train Bridge I knew where I was and had a good clean day from there,” mentioned Nisbet.
“It was a really tough day because I wasn’t sure how to pace myself,” she added, delighted to learnt that her in a single day lead had ballooned to over 5 and a half minutes.
Birkett stays solidly in second with Melanie van Niekerk retaining the small step on the ladies’s podium.
The days largest mover was the metronomic Heinrich Schloms who leapfrogged three positioned up the leaderboard to eighth.
Ian Hemmingway is the main junior in twenty seventh place general.
The signature third stage is the longest stage on the home racing calendar and spans 75 kilometres from Bridgetown to Zoutkloof, began in batches fairly than elapsed time.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS – BERG River Canoe MARATHON STAGE ONE
1.Hank McGregor 4:10:57 8:26:53
2.Uli Hart 4:12:06 8:28:24
3.Simon van Gysen 4:15:26 8:32:20
4.Wayne Jacobs 4:18:08 8:36:07
5.Graeme Solomon 4:19:09 8:41:58
6.Robbie Herreveld 4:17:41 8:41:58
7.Jeremy Maher 4:22:57 8:48:00
8.Heinrich Schloms 4:29:16 9:00:51
9.Daniel Jacobs 4:34:22 9:02:03
10.Sam Butcher 4:39:26 9:04:32
WOMEN
1.Jenna Nisbet 4:40:40 9:24:35
2.Nix Birkett 4:42:52 9:30:04
3.Melanie Van Niekerk 4:49:44 9:56:16
4.Christy Shrimpton 5:08:26 10:19:14
5.Tracey Oellermann 5:10:01 10:20:50
More data could be discovered at www.berg.org.za
