McGregor on verge of 11th Berg
Nick Tatham
THE notorious third stage of the Berg River Canoe Marathon saw plenty of drama as internationals Adrian Boros and Petr Mojžíšek matched eventual stage winner Hank McGregor right up to the final sprint in the men’s race, while Nikki Russell claimed her maiden stage win in the women’s race yesterday.
The 72km stage from Bridgetown to Zoutkloof threatened to produce the goods after an exciting bunch start in the morning, which set off at a blistering pace.
The front group of four, including McGregor, Boros, Mojžíšek and local stalwart Edgar Boehm jr, opened up a significant gap at the first portage at the Misverstand Dam wall.
“I’ve done an 80km paddle before but this was way more difficult because it’s in a race,” said world marathon K2 champion Boros after the stage.
“We tried to get the group down to four early on and when we managed to do that we shared the work for the rest of the stage.
“I’m happy with how everything went and I’m glad that the stage is done, and I can’t wait to get to the finish tomorrow (today).”
Despite the running repairs overnight, McGregor shrugged off the ordeal to win a wellcontested end sprint yesterday. His victory cemented his place at the front of the race, with the 60km stage into Velddrif the final obstacle between him and an 11th Berg crown.
“I tried to manipulate the bunch across the dam,” said McGregor. “Unfortunately for Simon, as he was the closest to me, I wanted him off. But Edgar was the lucky guy to be on the back of the diamond, and then we just worked together for the rest of the stage.
“It was interesting that the two internationals were both guys that have finished second behind me at the World Marathon Championships, so that was quite something.”
Although McGregor has 10 Berg titles to his name he maintains that there is no one who does not suffer on such a long stage of paddling. But having put in the bulk of the hard work in the first three days, he said he believed that the final stage into Velddrif would be an enjoyable one.
“A 72km stage is never going to be easy and it hurts. It doesn’t matter who you are. So I was just really chuffed to be on the front bunch at the end, and I appreciate the great sportsmen that I was racing with.
“I had a lot of fun out there and I’m really looking forward to the stage tomorrow (today). I’ve got a significant gap back to Simon, so I’m hoping I might be able to enjoy the final day for a change.”
The women’s race saw some changes when Nikki Russell blitzed the field to take her first stage win in her debut Berg after her patient wait for the flatter final two stages.
“I’m not a good river paddler and I haven’t tripped the river at all, so I knew that I had to wait for the final two stages, and I was looking forward to the stage today and through my training I was really prepared for this long, flat stuff,” Russell said yesterday.
“The last 10km today were really tough but I should have listened to my coach and come and tripped before the race because yesterday was a disaster, but I really enjoyed today, even though I was crying inside.”
Despite finishing second on the stage, Bianca Beavitt, who struggled throughout with a cold that left her battling to breathe properly, consolidated a significant overall lead and will take a close-to-unassailable 28-minute lead into the final 60km into Velddrif.
In the age-group battles, Thomas Lovemore takes a slender lead over Tyron Maher into the final stage of the under-23 race, and his brother Hamish Lovemore leads the under-18 boys’ contest from Emanuel Zaloumis. Jenna Ward and Kyeta Purchase control the under-23 and under-18 women’s battles, respectively.
The weather once again smiled on the field. Light early rain did little to dampen enthusiasm in the otherwise warm and windless conditions after two days of unseasonably warm winter sunshine.
Today’s fourth and final stage is a 60km pull from Zoutkloof to Velddrif on the West Coast. More information can be found at berg.org.za.