Top contenders square up at 2010 Hansa Powerade Fish

Wednesday, 29 September 2010 14:33

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Super-competitive men's race on cards at 2010 Hansa Powerade Fish

When the seeded men's batch gets under way from Grassridge dam at the start of the 2010 Hansa Powerade Fish River Canoe Marathon at 7am on Friday morning, the weeks of speculation will come to an end and one of the most competitive and enthralling title races for more than a decade will get under way.

The race sees a rematch between the defending champions Hank McGregor and Grant van der Walt, and the über-classy German crew of 1000m world champ Max Hoff and his Cologne clubmate and coach Stefan Stiefenhoefer.

In 2006 McGregor and Len Jenkins just managing to hold off the charging German pair in a rollercoaster tussle that set a new race record. The eagerly awaited rematch in the next K2 championship race in 2008 however ended less than an hour into the first stage, when the chasing Germans were forced under the kayak of McGregor and Grant van der Walt in Keith's Flyover rapid, and out of the race.

On Friday morning the Germans will get another shot at the title, and will find themselves up against a rested and ominously focused McGregor who will be concentrating on getting the most out of Van Der Walt who raced at the world marathon champs in Spain last weekend.

Hoff is pound-for-pound probably the best paddler on the planet at the moment, having successfully defended his 100m K1 title at the sprint worlds in Poland a month ago. In Stiefenhoefer he has a skilled experienced wild water marathoner who is also his mentor and confidante - and someone who knows this race well.

Hoff and Stiefenhoefer will jet into the Eastern Cape the day before the race, with little time to acclimatise and prepare. However the locals who have been assisting the French paddlers Loïc Vynisale and Quentin Bonnetain and Czech internationals Tomáš Slovák and Robert Knebel are stunned by their performance levels and dogged determination to race onto the podium.

"We could have all three top spots going to internationals this year," said a well-informed official close to the international team.

It would be a remarkable achievement, because there are eight other local crews just as capable of making it onto the podium or claiming the title, apart from the defending champs McGregor and Van Der Walt.

K1 "King of the Fish" Len Jenkins has scooped the services of Durban Iron Man Matt Bouman in a late addition to the 1700 plus entry list, and must be serious title contenders, particularly after Jenkins' K1 medal winning performance at the world marathon champs in Banyoles in Spain last weekend.

Add to this already mouthwatering prospect the visiting Australian national sprinters Stephen Bird and Jesse Phillips, fresh from their victory in the Liffey Descent in Ireland, and the pace is sure to be very fast throughout. Stephen Bird emigrated to Western Australia after graduating from Michaelhouse, and has raced into the top dozen 200m K2 crews with Phillips in a very short space of time.

Bird knows the race well - he will be starting his seventh Hansa Powerade Fish - and is still the holder of the junior boys K2 record with Cam Schoeman.

Bird's older brother Doug Bird and his partner Nic Burden are deadly serious about bettering their dark horse third in the 2008 race, and have been doing all their homework on the water, in the gym and on the race course.

Never discount the seasoned Gauteng pairing of Jacques Theron and Piers Cruikshanks, who signalled at the pre-Fish two weeks ago that they are taking this year's race very seriously, as are their Gauteng colleagues Mike Stewart and Dusi icon Michael Mbanjwa.

The Western Cape challenge hasn't yielded a title in many years, but expect Heinrich Schloms and Ernest van Riet to be serious contenders, while Maties ace Pierre-Andre Rabie has elected top race with the current Dusi K2 champ Andy Birkett.

As if the race for the podium wasn't hot enough, Lucas Mthalane and Eric Zondi have been turning heads in preparation for this years race, making it one of the most competitive ever in the 29 year history of the Hansa Powerade Fish.

The Junior title looks a little easier to call, as the duo of Brandon van der Walt and his Cape ally Ivan Kruger should draw a line in the sand for all the other Under 18 crews.

The Hansa Powerade Fish river canoe marathon takes place in Cradock on 1 and 2 October. More information can be found at www.fishmarathon.org.za

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