McGregor closes in on record seventh Berg win

Thursday, 15 July 2010 17:37

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Hank McGregor paddles closer to a record seventh Berg win

In the second and shortest day of the Windhoek Berg River Canoe Marathon, defending champion Hank McGregor made his move on the Cape contenders on a full flowing Berg, taking a critical step closer to a record seventh Berg title.

In the ladies race, a last minute landmark decision, allowing ladies to ride the waves of fellow male competitors, saw ladies racing on the Berg move into a whole new era.

The start of Day Two saw Lance King starting three seconds behind McGregor, in elapsed time. King work hard to catch McGregor and the raced most of the day together, having dropping Schloms just after the start. “ Hank wasn’t allowing Henirich (Schloms) to catch us. It was a very clever move and I applaud him” said King afterwards.

The river rose a dramatic 14 cumecs over night after heavy rain drenched the Cape, throwing channels into play that would not normally be open. This set the scene for a dramatic breakaway by McGregor, ensuring him a four minute lead going into tomorrow’s 74.8km Day Three stage, and putting him in the best position he has ever been in after Day Two.

"Thirty five minutes from the end of the race we came to a place where the river split into two channels, I took the right hand line and Lance took the left. When I saw him again 3 minutes later at the end of the channel, he was 60 metres behind me. This is when I put down the hammer.” said McGregor.

As a paddler well schooled on the lines of the Berg, King said; “That line is not normally open, Hank took a risky line, which is unusual, but he pulled it off”.

In the ladies race, Robyn Kime opened up her Day One lead to 30 minutes over second placed Donna Winter.

The unexpected last minute decision made by race officials, allowing elite ladies to ride male paddlers waves, has been met with mixed reactions from competitors and a lot of uncertainty. Both Kime, and Winter agreed in saying that, “If the Ladies prize money is being worked off finishing within 10% of the guys time, then this is the only way forward to make equal prize money achievable for us.”

Donna Winter, who was unaware of the change to the rule on Day One , added  “If the race organisers are going to change the rules the day before the race, it is important for them to call all of the Elite Ladies together, and ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding the changes.”

Further back in the field, solo adventurer Riaan Manser, who has only been paddling on the river for just over a month, spoke to us about his experience on Day 1 of the Berg. “Since this is the fourth time I am sitting in my boat, I feel like I am doing remarkably well. I felt strong at yesterday’s finish, despite my 10 swims - one of which happened when I turned around to chat to a fellow competitor!"

Tomorrow is the longest stage of the Berg, with paddlers undertaking the 74.8km from Bridgetown to Zoutkloof. For more information visit www.windhoekberg.co.za.

Day 2 Overall Results

Men

1. Hank McGregor 7:21.05
2. Lance King 7:24.54
3. Heinrich Schloms 7:27.02
4. Pierre-Andre Rabie 7:37.59
5. Edgar Boehm Jnr 7:40.48
6. Marc Holtzhausen 7:45.23
7. Alasdair Glass 7:51.06
8. Greg van Heerden 7:52.20
9. Chris De Waal 7:52.20
10. Louw van Riet 7:55.50

Women

1. Robyn Kime 8:22.11
2. Donna Winter 8:52.00
3. Robyn Henderson 8:57.31

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