THE thrilling N3TC Drak Challenge in partnership with FNB recently served to give a very important perspective on the mental and physical preparation of the contenders for the 2020 Dusi Canoe Marathon from 27-29 February, despite the fact that it is a K1 race on a different river.
Defending Dusi champion Andy Birkett rewrote the Drak history books after he won his seventh consecutive Drak Challenge title recently and has now bumped himself further up to the tier of river legends in South Africa. Not only does Birkett do it with a humble smile, he does it effortlessly and that is what his two day paddle down the Mzimkhulu River looked like as he coasted to a lopsided seven minute victory over long-time rival and friend Hank McGregor.
Significantly for Birkett however, was the performance of his Dusi partner on the second day of the Drak Challenge. Khumbulani Nzimande produced a monumental effort to rise three places from eighth overnight to fifth overall by posting the second fastest time on the final stage, helping him to his best result at the Drak Challenge.
One of the year’s most consistent paddlers has been Stew Little and despite him finishing in fourth this year at the Drak Challenge there is no doubt that the Dusi is the main goal for the Underberg local.
From a women’s perspective despite Jenna Ward’s dominance of the two days, there was one performance that stood out and might sound a few alarm bells for the leading Dusi combinations.
Sprint queen Bridgitte Hartley put in a ferocious display on day two where she blitzed her way up the field to finish in third place overall after a disappointing open day on Saturday left her a distant sixth. She produced the fastest time by a woman by five minutes on Sunday’s second stage.
In addition to getting her onto the podium for the fourth time in successive years, Dusi pundits are ramping up talk of her combination with Tracey Oellermann.
The Drak also gave us another glimpse into the form of Dusi K1 champion Christie Mackenzie. Mackenzie had to fight off a resurgent Hartley but managed to seal second spot behind Ward which again shows that she is in fine form.
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