Marathon Champs & Mauritius

Photo by Owen Middleton

Organising and competing are two things that shouldn’t be mixed. I actually think that organising could be harder than racing! The storm that hit Plett was unbelievable. Hail, snow on the mountains, gale-force winds! 2 trailors rolled on the drive down. Exciting stuff. Racing went well, next stop Portugal!

Now in Mauritius, raced the a warm up race today, INSIDE the reef because the surf was too big. Wasn’t elated to be doing more flatwater after the 50km’s of flat on the weekend, but it was the safest choice for the day. I managed to get away from Michelle Eder across the river mouth by some clever wave catching. I ended up 1st, Michelle 2nd and Carol Joyce 3rd.

Saturday’s prediction is looking good, the surf is dropping and there should still be wind. Can’t wait for a downwind!

Marathon Champs

Press Releases by Marc Cloete

 

Keurbooms – Keeping to Saturday’s South African spirit of leaving it to the last second, the SA K1 Marathon Championships saw no less than three brilliant endsprints to the finish line on Saturday. The highlight was the stunning senior men’s race, where the top four boats finished within two seconds of each other. South African sprint ace and 2006 K1 World Marathon Champion Shaun Rubenstein took the line honours to claim the most closely contested national title in years.

After the first lap there was a strong four boat breakaway in the men’s race, with Rubenstein, Hank McGregor, Len Jenkins and Ant Stott all taking turns to take up the pull, and looking for any chance to edge each other off the bunch. None of them showed any weakness though and the four musketeers used the 7 laps to put some distance between them and the chasing bunch. Jenkins even overcame an incident on the final portage where he dropped his boat, but he managed to catch the lead bunch and put in a massive effort on the line to take the silver medal.

 “It was a very competitive race and at no time could anyone be confident that they could win. The other three guys are all class athletes so it was very tactical. I’m so pleased my final portage was good and I had the speed to win on the line,” said the Gauteng champion afterwards. 2003 K1 World Champion Hank McGregor was third and Dusi champion and reigning K2 World Champion Ant Stott fourth.

2007 World Junior Champion Grant van der Walt had a terrible start to the race, but managed to work his back inot fifth place ahead of Lance King who was sixth. The quality of the field was unparalleled and the racing lived up to the highest standards.

The ladies race was a two boat event from early on, as sprint champion Bridgitte Hartley and fellow Olympian Michele Eray broke away together from the start. The two worked together for all 6 laps, and it was inevitable that an endsprint would decide the winner. Hartley’s superior power pulled her ahead of Eray and she was ecstatic to take the win. “I knew I needed a good final portage because Michele was stronger on those than me. But once I got back on the water I was confident I could win,” said Hartley afterwards. It was the first SA Marathon title for the sprint star and she was happy to overcome the unfamiliar. “I was quite nervous at the start because marathons are not very familiar for me and I didn’t know what to expect.”

Well one thing she can expect is a trip with the national squad to Portugal in September for the World Marathon Championships. U23 paddlers Robyn Kime and Abby Adie were third and fourth, five minutes behind the leaders. The Junior Boys race also ended in a dramatic final sprint, with Gauteng protégée Brandon van der Walt taking line honours ahead of Murray Burgess. The two had managed to break away early on in their race, and finished over two minutes ahead of the chasing bunch. The Junior girls race resulted in a more clear cut finish, with KwaZulu-Natal U16 paddler Kerry Segal taking the win almost a minute ahead of Gauteng’s Kerry Malan. Western Cape sprinter Melanie van Niekerck was third a further minute behind. Race conditions were tough throughout the day, with the low tide and gusting wind throwing in another dimension to the competition. The Keurbooms River gorge protected the field for most of the time, but they had to deal with random headwinds and tailwinds, as well as sand banks and shallow water.

National marathon Chairman Malcolm Stothard was delighted with the day’s results. “We had to move the portage for the final race because of the sandbanks, but it was a fantastic day of racing, and there was great support throughout,” he said afterwards. The paddlers are preparing for another day of top competition tomorrow, when the K2 racing takes place at the same venue from 9am.

Results Summary:

Men Shaun Rubenstein 2h12m35s Len Jenkins 2:12:36 Hank McGregor 2:12:26 Ant Stott 2:12:27.51

Women Bridgitte Hartley 2:09:55 Michele Eray 2:09:57 Robyn Kime 2:14:54 Abby Adie 2:14:57

Junior Boys Brandon van der Walt 1:40:22 Murray Burgess 1:40:23 Ivan Kruger 1:43:01

Junor Girls Kerry Segal 1:30:51 Kerry Malan 1:31:43 Melanie van Niekerk 1:32:47

 

Class to the fore at K2 SA Marathon Champs

Keurbooms – It was a case of the cream rising to the surface during Sunday’s K2 SA Marathon Championships as 2006 K1 World Champion Shaun Rubenstein and reigning K2 World Champion Ant Stott raced to a solid victory on the Keurbooms River. In the senior ladies race, international World Cup champion Bridgitte Hartley and fellow Olympian Michele Eray claimed a comfortable victory.
 
Racing in the overcast drizzle, there was a two boat breakaway from the first portage in the men’s race. Rubenstein and Stott and Hank McGregor and Grant van der Walt dropped three chasers at the put-in, and spent the rest of the seven laps working together to drive home their advantage.
 
“We tried to put pressure on them at the portages, but otherwise we kept up a steady pace on the water in anticipation for the endsprint,” said Rubenstein afterwards. “We felt that we had the speed for the endsprint so we managed to break away on the final straight.” The win by almost three seconds capped a dream weekend for Rubenstein, that included victory in Saturday’s epic K1 race.
 
The ladies race endured its fair share of drama as the pairing of one of the pre-race favourites, Olympians Jen Hodson and Carol Joyce, missed the start of the race. The pair arrived during the second lap, and entered for the final four laps on a time trial basis for selection purposes only. Bridgitte Hartley and Michele Eray were told of the change for the start of their third lap and had to put tactics aside to race against the clock, which they managed to good effect by finishing 19 seconds ahead of Hodson and Joyce.
 
“It’s easier to race with someone so you can share the work, but the race changed after the second lap and we just had to go as hard as we could,” said Hartley afterwards. The Gauteng star won Saturday’s K1 event, with Plettenberg Bay local Eray in second, while Hodson and Joyce opted to focus on the K2 event.
 
Earlier in the race, Lindi-May Harmsen and Abby Adie put in a strong charge at the first portage, but traffic at the put-in from an earlier race allowed Hartley and Eray to sneak ahead, and they immediately capitalized by putting in a strong interval on the water to break away. Harmsen and Adie finished over four minutes behind the eventual champions.
 
The Junior races ended in two-boat endsprints. In the boys race, the Gauteng combination of Brandon van der Walt and Murray Burgess, who had placed first and second in Saturday’s K1 race, were too strong for Martin van den Bergh and Stu MacLaren. The U16 boat of Gavin Shuter and Ruan Knobel were just over a minute behind in third.
 
Kerry Malan from Gauteng, managed to kick on from her second place in the K1 race, to partner Jenna Ward to victory in the girls race. The KwaZulu-Natal duo of Lindsey Davis and Jenna Starr were less than a second behind, with K1 junior winner Kerry Segal and Lauren Felgate winning the endsprint for the bronze.
 
The standard of racing throughout the weekend bodes well for the Marathon World Championships in Portugal from September 18 to 20. As Hank McGregor said afterwards, “When Ant Stott, who was third K1 in the world last year, couldn’t make it onto the K1 podium this weekend, it shows you that this is one of the most difficult national teams to get selected for in the world.”
 
Results Summary:
Men K2

1.      Shaun Rubenstein / Ant Stott 2h 04m 51.19s

2.      Grant van der Walt / Hank McGregor 2:05:01.93

3.      Graeme Solomon / Gavin White 2:10:21.17
Women K2

1.      Michele Eray / Bridgitte Hartley 1:28:15.80

2.      Abby Adie / Lindi-May Harmsen 2:02:27.96

3.      Robyn Kime / Jackie Barnes 2:05:13.45

That’s my K2 Partner:)

Hartley On Top Of The World

Posted by Marc Cloete in International

Pretoria – Bridgitte Hartley’s stellar year got even better yesterday when it was announced that she had placed first in the overall ICF World Cup competition. Over the course of the three international World Cup regattas, Hartley accumulated more points than any other competitor, meaning she has consistently been the world’s top performer in women’s sprint kayaking over the past two months. Hartley received the news online, and had to hold back her emotions. “I just wanted to scream and cry together, but the internet café was not the appropriate place to do this!” she said afterwards. At the beginning of the year, Hartley had set herself the lofty goal of placing in the top three at the end of the World Cup season, and she was ecstatic to have overachieved on it. The overall rankings for the World Cups only take the Olympic-distance 500m races into account, and with a gold, a bronze and a seventh place from the three regattas, Hartley finished on top of the standings, two points ahead of German icon and 5-times Olympic medalist Katrin Wagner-Augustin. Top Danish sprinter Henriette Engel-Hansen was a further eight points behind in third place. However, Hartley’s success wasn’t confined to the 500m races and her results over all distances were outstanding. The K1 star took herself to the first World Cup of the year in Racice, Czech Republic, and as the only athlete representing South Africa had to perform the dual role of administrator and competitor. The load didn’t seem to weigh too heavily on her shoulders as she won bronze medals in the K1 1000m and 500m events, and capped the weekend with gold in the 5000m race. She was joined two weeks later by the rest of the national squad as they set out for the Poznan World Cup in Poland. With more athletes taking part from around the world, and the competition even tougher, she was able to hold on to her good form to win two more bronze medals in the K1 1000m and 5000m races. Saving the best for last, Hartley was on fire for the third and final World Cup in Szeged, Hungary – the traditional home of sprint paddling. In a star-studded final of the K1 500m race, Hartley raced to the gold medal ahead of two Beijing Olympic medalists to claim the biggest win of her career. She followed that up with yet another bronze in the K1 1000m event. In less than a month, the ace South African sprinter had won 7 medals against some of the toughest competitors on the world’s water. Hartley was full of praise for her coach Nandor Almasi, as well as her sponsors. She also thanked the the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund for their funding of the sport, and the facilities and support at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria. “Being a member of the Tuks club my little 400m pond is not adequate for good training sessions, so another ingredient was the Centurion Club at Rietvlei and the Academy Canoe Club at Roodeplaat for access to the dam and training facilities, as well as the MTK club in Hungary which was my base between the World Cups,” she added. Hartley has just less than two months left to prepare for the Sprint World Championships, which are to be staged in Dartmouth, Canada from August 12 to 16.

6th Win

Photo by Anthony Grote

Today’s race started at the Durban Undersea Club (DUC), which is gem of a spot, nestled in the corner of the Durban Beachfront, near the Harbour Wall. We paddled along the coast towards North Beach, stopping three times to go around bouys placed in the Surf Zone. The first was at New Pier, the 2nd at Bay of Plenty, and the final obstacle was at Battery Beach. You did 2 laps, meaning you went in and out through the surf 6 times. Many opportunities to make, or break, your race.

I had a stormer, finishing in 9th place Overall in the Men’s event.

The photo on the right is by Anthony, see www.anthonygrote.com for more excellent pictures.

On Friday I am off to Plett, for some super, soul-cleansing forest and sea time Actually the SA Marathon Champs will be held over the weekend of the 27th and 28th June, and I am the lucky person who needs to go organise. Plus I am racing, so I really need to get down there. Vert excited about going home for a few weeks, to see my family and my puppy Bongo. Hope he still knows who I am…

Fifth Win & Bridgitte Wins 500m K1 at Szeged

Photo by Anthony Grote

On Sunday I raced the 5th Race of the Surf Ski Series here in Durban. It was from Scottborough to Winkelspruit, which is 23km of potential downwind. When we woke up there was no wind, but on the course it was actually super fun, with leftover bumps from the night before wind. Warren and I ended up paddling together the whole way, on a very shallow line. We even got to take a couple of waves along the way. Maybe not the fastest route, but definitely the most fun!

I ended up winning by over 6 minutes from Michelle Eder, and in a great 87% of the winning man’s time. Billy Harker has raised the PowerAde Bonus Percentage to 84% as I have taken the full prize every week so far. In Cape Town I only ever took about half…

While I was hooting down runs, Bridgitte Hartley (my Olympic K2 partner, and my Marathon Partner for this year) won the 500m K1 event at the Szeged World Cup. (see www.bridgittehartley.com for more info). Sprint Kayaking in Hungary is bigger than rugby here in South Africa. I can only imagine how awesome it must have been to win her race in front of that enthusiastic and very vocal Hungarian crowd!

Well done Bridge!

Race 4: The Hansa 5 Beaches

The Hansa 5 Beaches was postponed due to the massive swell that hit the Natal coastline. Instead, Billy Harker from surfski.co.za held a 2 lap 20km race from Marine. Good call for safety, but pretty boring for us to paddle. Better than a broken boat though!

 

Race was ok, had a hard training week, so felt a bit flat during the first lap. that got better, but unfortunately a head wind picked up, making the last 3km’s uncomfortable. Finished 3rd in the Mens B-Grade, and 1st in the women’s event ahead of Donna Winter, in 89% of Matt Bouman’s time, my best so far.

There was a nice picture in the Natal Mercury (Anthony Grote.com).

Thoroughly enjoying the Natal winter, and my new digs.

Race 3

Michele Squared-Dave Macleod/Gameplan Media

Yesterday I raced the Mc Carthy Toyota King of the Bay which was race 3 of the Series. I really felt good, and finished strong.

I have been in Durban for a whole week now, although it feels like a month. Been so busy, warmer weather and water, and the extra morning daylight hours have made my days pretty full of activities. Loving it so far.

Here is the article on the race by Dave Macleod of Gameplan Media:

Discovery Men’s Health Surf Ski Series Media Release		No: SSS0905	24 May 2009
Hat tricks for Bouman and Eray in the McCarthy Toyota King of the Bay race Durban – Matt Bouman secured a hat-trick of wins in of the Discovery Men’s Health Surf Ski Series with a dramatic win in the McCarthy Toyota King of the Bay surf ski race, after he took an early break out of the harbour on a boat wave and never looked back.  Bouman, together with Eastern cape star Richard von Wildemann and Barry Lewin broke away from the pack once out of the harbour, and once Bouman took the gap on the boat wave it was up to Lewin and von Wildemann to fight it out for second and third place. However, even though Bouman raced alone he said that knowing Lewin and von Wildemann were racing behind kept him focused. “They kept me honest,” Bouman said good humouredly. Bouman had been hoping to race against Hank McGregor on this leg, but said that he understood McGregor taking a breather after winning the Molokai race in  Hawaii. The woman’s single race followed a very similar pattern to that of the men’s with Michèle Eray of Plettenberg Bay well ahead and Michelle Eder and Donna Winter fighting in out for second and third places. “I just missed the back of big group so I ended up pulling most of the way,” says a smiley Michèle Eray.  After about three or four kilometres I did a surge and lost the others.  “I took a shallow line and that worked well for me and after the turn I knew it was only seven kilometres so I just put my head down and went for it.” “My housemate Warren was paddling just ahead of me and I was determined to catch him,” she laughs and nods with a satisfied affirmative when asked if she succeeded in her mission of catching him. “I really enjoy the longer distance,” says Eray.  “I think 20 kilometres is my ideal race…and I thought I was a sprinter?” Amanzimtoti star Michelle Eder had a tougher time and gutsed it out to a nail biting second place despite a cramp in her neck.  “The race was very tough,” she smiled bravely still in obvious pain.  “I took the long way round the red can, so Donna (Winter) managed to catch up to me.” The 22km McCarthy Toyota King of the Bay surf ski race is a favourite with locals and national paddlers alike, as it is the one time in the year that paddlers are allowed to paddle out of the Durban harbour mouth. Backmarkers during the race had to jostle with massive container ship that exited the harbour at the same time as they6 were. Richard von Wildemann who hails from Port Eilzabeth was one of a number of national paddlers who flew into Durban for this particular race.  “Durban is definitely the capital of surf skiing,” says von Wildemann, “the conditions are awesome and the people are great.  This is just a fantastic race!” Von Wildemann left the harbour mouth in a four boat pack that included Clinton Bollard, who rather dramatically raced the ski race in a K1 canoe, and despite his decision to take on the short course, he ran a considerable risk paddling the open kayak out through the harbour mouth and around to the finish at Ushaka Beach. As the morning progressed so too did the swell and the wind making things tougher for the stragglers fighting the elements.  DISCOVERY MEN’S HEALTH SURF SKI SERIES RACE THREE McCarthy Toyota King of the Bay Race 1.Matthew Bouman 1:37:59 2.Barry Lewin 1:38:53 3.Richard von Wildemann 1:39:24 4.Grant van der Walt 1:41:56 5.Herman Chalupsky 1:42:50 6.Andre Pohl 1:42:55 7.Oscar Chalupsky 1:45:17 8.Jeffery Smith 1:45:32 9.Oliver Burn 1:46:06 10.Mark Mulder 1:46:38 Women 1.Michèle Eray 1:51:43 2.Michelle Eder 1:55:57 3.Donna Winter 1:56:51 4.Danica Vorster 2:05:42 5.Angelique Mulder 2:13:59   Double ski 1.Warren Jacobs/Zoog Haynes 1:36:23 2.Waine Wilson/Warren Valentine 1:36:45 3.Marc Germiquet/Jaysen Golding 1:38:42 4.Mark Lewin/Lynton Hope 1:41:59 (First Masters) 5.Nigel Stevens/Michael Stevens 1:42:12 6.Gavin Searle/Quinton Rutherford 1:42:47 7.Anton Fouche/Greg Frizelle 1:44:26 8.Gary Clarke/Richard Philps 1:44:42 9. Mike Nichol/Ted Waldburger 1:45:15 10. Guy McCormack/Kelvin McCormack 1:45:36 Mixed Double ski 1.Stretch Struwig/Colleen Struwig 1:48:18 2.Kelly Howe/Konrad Karcz 1:54:57 3.Dave Herridge/Debra Barker 1:56:20 Female Double ski 1.Natalie Veckranges/Nicola Irvine 1:54:15 2.Cara Bush/Penny Bush 2:08:53 CALENDAR OF EVENTS: 31 May Hansa Five Beach, Umkomaas to Toti 7 June Discovery Winklespruit race, Winklespruit 14 June HiQ Marine race, Durban 20 June Scottburgh Winter Solstice Cyclelab race, Scottburgh 28 June CMH Toyota Pirates Umhlanga Pirates, Durban 5 July KZN Awnings Downwind, Amanzimtoti 11 July Durban Surf Ski World Cup, Durban 18 July Men’s Health Scottburgh to Brighton Full details of the series can be found at www.surfski.co.za

Rudy Project, Welcome Aboard

I am very stoked to announce that Rudy Project have come on board to help me achieve my goals. Their glasses are unreal. I had a great surprise when I arrived back from Spain to find a package waiting for me. In it were my new eye wear.

I am using the Sportmask SX from 9 to 5, and then the Noyz with ImpactX, Photochromic and Polarized lenses for during training.

Go check out www.rudyproject.co.za  for their full range. It must have been quite a task to design a website to showcase so many different products.

Photo Shoot & Best Wave Ever Ridden (not by me)

 

All Photo’s by Anthony Grote (www.anthonygrote.com)

Spent the morning with Matt and Grant getting pounded in the shorebreak so Ant could get some good shots. Luckily the water is warm here in Durban Celebrated moving here with a good surf with some good mates. Love Mondays!

Check out this wave Layne Beachley got! Awesome! Link to full article below.

http://www.coastalwatch.com/news/article.aspx?articleId=5772&display=0&cateId=3&title=Best%20Wave%20Ridden%20by%20a%20Female%20Surfer%20in%20Australia%20Ever

Race 2 as a Durban Local

Photo by Anthony Grote

Did the EPIC drive up from Plett on Friday with good mate Ryan “Cradock” Louw. Took us a whole lot longer than we anticipated due to the number of trucks on the road… What is that all about? Anyway, made it finally, and unpacked my life into my new digs with Nat & Robyn Veckranges, Warren Beuster & Grant VD Walt. Awesome place, and awesome new house mates!

Saturday I paddled the Natal Marathon Champs, which was a great fitness test for me. I’m almost where I want to be, and fortunatley time is on my side as I still have some weeks until the National Trial.

Sunday was the 2nd race of Billy’s Ski Series, proudly supported by Discovery and Men’s Health. Michelle Eder pushed me really hard, and I had to dig deep to drop her, and then I managed to waste my lead in the surf, but luckily held it together enough to win the beach sprint. Exciting stuff! Matt B won the men’s in dominating fashion, with Barry in 2nd, followed by the Chalupsky’s and house mate Grant.

Hank won the Molokai, so after 2 years of being the bridesmaid he ia now the Champion! So stoked for him.

Other than that, Durban is great, had a warm surf this morning (after getting pounded in the shorebreak doing a photo shoot with SA paddler!) It’s going to easy adapting to life here:)