BANETSE Nkhoesa and Msawenkosi Mtolo, who form part of Martin Dreyer’s FNB Change a Life Academy crew, made it clear they are aiming for a place on the podium at this year’s Dusi Canoe Marathon, which kicked off this morning.
With a win at the final Dusi seeding race recently, the pair is currently in the mix of podium favourites.
Banetse, who claimed a podium spot in the race in 2016, knows what it takes to finish well and believes they are in the right frame of mind to achieve a top three spot.
Msawenkosi claimed 13th overall in 2019, third in the U23 category and a 12th in 2018 in a K2 with Mmeli Cele.
ALSO READ: Burma Road portage removed from 2020 Dusi
“We have been working with our coach, Andrew Booyens, throughout the season and he put us on a good programme over December and January,” said Banetse.
“When we got to 50 Miler, we weren’t expecting much so we were quite surprised when finished third. At Ozzie Gladwin we were also surprised that we managed to stay with the front guys,” he added.
At the Campbells to Dusi Bridge, the pair showed they are in peak form and feel they could push for a spot in the top five.
“What we achieved helped us realise that our goal to finish in the top five could be achievable. Maybe we can even do better than we are expecting,” added Banetse.
Banetse said, “We know that Andy (Birkett) and Khumbulani (Nzimande) will be the favourites to take the title and Sbonelo (Khwela) and Thulani (Mbanjwa) will also be strong. We need to try and stick with these crews to give ourselves a chance to finish in the top five.”
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
