Birkett takes Dusi command

This saw him extending the gap between him and second place Lance Kime and Birkett now hold all the cards going into Saturday’s third and final stage.

The four time Dusi winner started the day with a 25 second advantage and an early mishap by Kime which saw him have to double back and retrieve his dropped paddle on the Saddles 1 portage, soon saw Birkett well out in front on his own.

A momentary lapse from Birkett at the start of the revised Nqumeni portage however saw the 24 year-old momentarily lose his way and with it some valuable time.

Birkett’s error and with Kime under pressure from a flying third placed Sbonelo Khwela (Euro Steel/Red Bull), the front of the men’s race looked there for the taking however a refocus from Birkett saw him destroy his competition in the second half of the day to finish five and a half minutes ahead of Kime.

“I am stoked with today, I wanted to put four minutes into the guys and I got five and a half so I couldn’t ask to be in a better position going into the final day,” he said. “I really enjoyed the level even though you do have to look for your lines and make sure that you don’t make too many mistakes."

The Msundusi and the Mngeni Rivers meet during the second stage and although there was not too much water coming from the Mngeni side Birkett was happy with the level of water compared to his training level.

“I wouldn’t say the level was medium to low, we have been spoilt at the Dusi, if you go tripping during the week when there is no release it is a lot lower than this so this is actually good water compared to what the Dusi normally flows at,” he added.

Despite the deficit, Kime will be all too aware of the importance of ensuring he puts in another strong performance on the final day following a day where was always in between catching Birkett or being caught by Khwela.

“I think my pace definitely did change, I think the first half was more effected by some little mistakes that I made early on and those ended up being costly and cost me 30 seconds to a minute,” said Euro Steel’s Kime.

“The fact that he was so close behind just gave me that extra push so I could always see him behind me when I looked back I could see that yellow life jacket and that gave me enough of a scare to keep pushing as hard as I could to the finish,” he added.

Khwela’s superb portaging abilities were again displayed on Thursday’s Nqumeni Hill as he ate into the lead of the two in front of him, something he will have to capitalize on fully on Saturday’s infamous Burma Road climb if he is to remain a title challenger.

“I think the body will tell me tomorrow if I have enough to go over Burma and be a threat but anything can happen in this race so I will do my best and with a day to go I can’t give up now,” said Khwela.

Build it/Williams Hunt’s Thulani Mbanjwa had another steady day in fourth place however the 31 year-old’s title challenge sadly seem over with a podium place even seeming a long way away.

Andrew Houston (Seed Co.) narrowly held onto fifth, and in so doing held onto his lead in the Under-23 men’s clash, as his good friends and training partners Owen Gandar and Murray Starr finished less than a minute back.

After a strong opening effort on Thursday, Zonele Nzuza suffered at the hands of Friday’s more paddling biased stage and was the top 20’s biggest faller – down from sixth to twelfth – while junior boys’ race leader Alan Houston of Michaelhouse was the biggest climber, up from twentieth overnight to thirteenth overall.

Saturday’s third and final stage of the Dusi Canoe Marathon takes place from Msinsi Resort, Inanda Dam to Blue Lagoon, Durban. Racing gets underway at 05h30 however the leaders start at 10h45 and the leading men are expected at the finish around 13h00. More information can be found at www.dusi.co.za

Summary of Results

Stage two – Dusi Bridge to Inanda Dam

Men

1. Andy Birkett 2:59.33 5:35.59
2. Lance Kime 3:04.37 5:41.28
3. Sbonelo Khwela 3:07.24 5:45.45
4. Thulani Mbanjwa 3:09.21 5:51.23
5. Andrew Houston (U23) 3:16.23 6:06.35
6. Owen Gandar 3:13.08 6:07.28
7. Murray Starr (U23) 3:13.06 6:07.29
8. Jacques Theron 3:15.53 6:11.54
9. Carl Folscher 3:15.44 6:11.54
10. Banesti Nkhoesa (U23) 3:17.32 6:11.55

(File Photo: Anthony Grote, Gameplan Media)

Twitter - @SportswaveAndre