Mbanjwa banks on relaxed Dusi approach

HE may be the oldest member of the Fantastic Four team, but Thulani Mbanjwa is definitely not to be written off when the 2015 Dusi Canoe Marathon gets underway at Camps Drift in February.

However, he is applying little pressure on himself as he builds up to the iconic three-day race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

Having recorded a win at the Dusi in 2008, together with ‘Dusi Duke’ Martin Dreyer, the 31-year-old has come back well in the last six months with some solid performances in the Western and Eastern Cape through the winter. These results have put him right back in the mix for the 2015 Dusi title.

“I am doing really well at the moment, and I am happy with how things have gone recently,” the Build-it/Williams Hunt paddler said.

“I went down to the Berg and Fish rivers and got my best Fish result ever, which has really given me a lot of confidence, but I know that Dusi is different.”

Mbanjwa is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the race and the strength of the competition. However, the strength of his competitors is something that he is going to take in his stride, rather focusing on his preparation for the race.

“The guys up front are going to be really strong this year, and they have all won the race previously, which means that they know what it takes to win. Andy Birkett has done it on a number of occasions, but I am going to keep doing what I have done well in the past.

“The training has been going alright, I am usually training a lot harder at this stage, but I am at a medium- to hard level of training now and that is a choice of mine to go into the race with less pressure on myself,” Mbanjwa added.

A stellar field will assemble for the start of the 2015 Dusi. and Mbanjwa is well aware of the threat that his younger competitors will pose. However, he knows his strengths and has shaped his skills to excel and stand up to the pressure from the other paddlers.