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THE 55th edition of the Berg River Canoe Marathon is turning into a struggle between race leader Hank McGregor and second-placed Simon van Gysen.
They pulled more than 17 minutes ahead of the rest on Thursday, but the gap between them increased by 55 seconds.
The 74km third leg on Friday from Bridgetown to Zoutkloof promises to be an epic, with defending champion McGregor holding a good advantage over the flatter river.
KwaZulu-Natal’s McGregor, who is bidding for an unprecedented 11th victory, had a 20sec lead at the start of the 47km trek from Zonquasdrift to Bridgetown, the shortest of the four stages.
He delivered another effortless paddling exhibition on a warm winter day, posting a time of 3hr 26min 16sec. His overall time of 7hr 55min 16sec is 1:15 clear of local hope Van Gysen.
McGregor lost blood along the way after riding into a tree and cutting his head on a broken branch. He needed four stitches.
The challenge of third-placed Hungarian Adrian Boros seems to be over after he lost his way on several occasions. It cost him 17 minutes and he will now do well to finish on the podium, come Saturday’s finish in Veldriff.
"No heroics needed for the second stint," said McGregor.
"Simon and I basically had the river to ourselves and I managed to pull away from him. I wasn’t going to overwork myself after the strain from the day before.
"Getting the head cut open wasn’t part of the script. I never saw the tree I collided with until it was too late. It meant I had to paddle on while losing quite a lot of blood. But I’ll carry the scar proudly.
"It does seem to be a two-horse race from now onwards," McGregor said.
"From my side, the race for the line is going to be fiercely contested. Anything can happen with two days to go. Simon for sure will have his plans of dethroning me. He was the form man in the pre-Berg races," he said.
The women’s race is over as a contest, with defending champion Bianca Beavitt leading 2013 winner Jenna Ward by more than 20 minutes. She is in effect racing against the men and will be keen to consolidate her overall 19th place.
"I made small mistakes, but overall, I’m delighted with how things have gone, albeit that I have been pretty lonely out there,"said Beavitt.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
McGregor loses blood and wins stage
THE 55th edition of the Berg River Canoe Marathon is turning into a struggle between race leader Hank McGregor and second-placed Simon van Gysen.
They pulled more than 17 minutes ahead of the rest on Thursday, but the gap between them increased by 55 seconds.
The 74km third leg on Friday from Bridgetown to Zoutkloof promises to be an epic, with defending champion McGregor holding a good advantage over the flatter river.
KwaZulu-Natal’s McGregor, who is bidding for an unprecedented 11th victory, had a 20sec lead at the start of the 47km trek from Zonquasdrift to Bridgetown, the shortest of the four stages.
He delivered another effortless paddling exhibition on a warm winter day, posting a time of 3hr 26min 16sec. His overall time of 7hr 55min 16sec is 1:15 clear of local hope Van Gysen.
McGregor lost blood along the way after riding into a tree and cutting his head on a broken branch. He needed four stitches.
The challenge of third-placed Hungarian Adrian Boros seems to be over after he lost his way on several occasions. It cost him 17 minutes and he will now do well to finish on the podium, come Saturday’s finish in Veldriff.
"No heroics needed for the second stint," said McGregor.
"Simon and I basically had the river to ourselves and I managed to pull away from him. I wasn’t going to overwork myself after the strain from the day before.
"Getting the head cut open wasn’t part of the script. I never saw the tree I collided with until it was too late. It meant I had to paddle on while losing quite a lot of blood. But I’ll carry the scar proudly.
"It does seem to be a two-horse race from now onwards," McGregor said.
"From my side, the race for the line is going to be fiercely contested. Anything can happen with two days to go. Simon for sure will have his plans of dethroning me. He was the form man in the pre-Berg races," he said.
The women’s race is over as a contest, with defending champion Bianca Beavitt leading 2013 winner Jenna Ward by more than 20 minutes. She is in effect racing against the men and will be keen to consolidate her overall 19th place.
"I made small mistakes, but overall, I’m delighted with how things have gone, albeit that I have been pretty lonely out there,"said Beavitt.
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Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.