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Preview of Hansa
Powerade Drakensberg Challenge.
Underberg
– The floodwaters that charged down the Umzimkulu river this week may have
subsided, but they have left behind them a buzz of anticipation ahead of
this weekend’s Hansa Powerade Drakensberg Challenge canoe marathon.
The countries top river racers, and another massive entry of paddlers that
thrive on the challenging, clean waters over the two day, 75km marathon that
starts at Castleburn, high in the foothills of the Southern Drakensberg will
descend on Underberg for the start ion Saturday morning, with an air of
uncertainty over the amount of water they will find in the river.
The wall of water that swept down the Umzimkulu on Tuesday night has left
the river running at an excellent medium level, but with evening
thunderstorms forecast for the latter part of the week and the weekend, the
actual river level for the race may well be full and challenging.
Ant Stott, who has five of the last nine editions of this fifteen year old
race, makes as welcome return to the marathon, after a two year hiatus
focusing on the national K4 sprint team trying to secure a berth at the
Beijing Olympics. He will start as one of the hotly fancied paddlers to wrap
up the prestigious title.
Arguably the hungriest of the contenders will be Hank McGregor, who has been
denied the top spot on the podium three years in succession. The Drak
Challenge remains one of the very few races that he has never won.
His dice with Ant Stott ended in a split second mistake in the dying moments
of the 2006 race, when he was stranded on rocks in the Lower Gorge. In 2007
he was locked in a ferocious duel with Len Jenkins until he capsized in the
notorious Glenhaven rapid.
Last year he was beaten fair and square by the visiting German wild water
champion Max Hoff, who streaked to victory despite the fact that he had
never paddled on the river, and was using craft that he had bought the day
before the race.
Add to that mix two-times former champion Len Jenkins, who showed with his
victory with Deon Bruss in the recent Umkomaas marathon that his low key
summer has left him rested and rejuvenated, and the talented likes of Sven
Bruss and the junior marathon world champion Grant van der Walt, and the
tussle for places on the podium will be very intense.
Van der Walt will start as an almost certain junior champion, and can look
to attack his own stage two junior record, and Clint Pretorius’ five year
old stage one, and overall race records.
The women’s race has once again attracted a strong field, with defending
champion Abbey Miedema in pole position to retain her title, against the
likes of schoolgirl prodigy Robyn Kime, Tiffany Kruger, Angelique Mulder,
Michelle Eder and Vicky Chiazzari.
Several internationals have also entered the race, amongst them British
marathon international Simon Dark who will be taking part in the newly
formed Dragon Challenge, which starts with a 62km trek from Injasuti peak to
Highmoor, followed the next day by a 108 mountainbike leg to the start of
the Hansa Powerade Drakensberg Challenge, which makes up the last two days
of the epic event.
The race will once again raise funds for the local branch of the SPCA,
through the sale of places in the premium “Drak batch” which is an early
start reserved for the so-called “Drak Trouts” who have completed ten or
more of these races.
Amongst those “Trouts” will be Pietermaritzburg canoe manufacturer Owen
Hemmingway, who is the only person to have completed every single running of
this popular two-day event.
Amongst the race’s other annual highlights are the social inter-canoe-club
golf tournament at the Underberg Country Club on Saturday afternoon, and the
Saturday evening Hansa party at the Underberg school that always attracts
many of the local residents to revel with the paddlers.
The race starts with a 24km first stage from Castleburn, close to the
Drakensberg Gardens hotel, through the famous Valley of a Thousand Rapids,
and finishing at the Swartberg road bridge just outside Underberg. The
longer 38km second stage passes through Underberg and finishes at early
Mists farm, close to the Coleford resort.
More
information is available on the race website at
www.drak.co.za
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