Birkett and Solms take lead in Dusi

THE calm sunrise over Camps Drift was shattered by the FNB Dusi Canoe Marathon yesterday, as the two pre-race hot favourites, Andy Birkett and Abby Solms, proved their pedigree to take commanding stage wins and overall leads going into the next two stages.

The men’s race was set up to be a humdinger, with a number of paddlers’ names being thrown into the pre-Dusi hype hat. However, Birkett put his challengers under some serious pressure as early as the Campbell’s Farm portage.

After Birkett (Euro Steel) and Sbonelo Khwela (Euro Steel/Red Bull) opened up a gap on the chasers on the opening portage of the day at Campbell’s Farm, and by the time the duo arrived at the put-in at Geoff’s Road at the end of the Guinea Fowl portage, Birkett had gained a 20-second advantage.

That was the last Khwela would see of the defending champion.

Birkett’s efforts on the opening stage of the race were unrivalled, with the 26-year-old finishing just over four minutes outside his own day-one record, proof that he pushed the rest of the field.

The biggest threat to Birkett’s charge for a seventh Dusi title was going to come from Khwela, whose good form came to the fore yesterday when he paddled away from Hank McGregor into second position.

A mishap at the Musson’s Weir less than an hour from the start put multiple Marathon world champion McGregor on the back foot.

“At Musson’s I snapped my paddle so I was on one paddle for a while. I managed to make up that time gap before the first portage but the other two guys were too strong on the run and credit must go them,” he said.

Solms’s drought of K1 titles at the Dusi is under threat of being broken after the Euro Steel star surged into a commanding nine-minute lead over the young Christie Mackenzie, 18, in second position.

Day Two of the Dusi Canoe Marathon is a 46km stage from Dusi Bridge to Msinsi Resort on Inanda Dam.