All my race results- Spain 2009

We completed our final race of the Spanish river racing circuit yesterday. Ryan and I are happy with our K2 race results and have had an amazing time over here in Spain. A major bonus for me was the fact that my girlfriend Sue flew over to join us for a full week over here and was also able to share a lot of these unforgettable experiences with us.

Here are the races from the last to the first:

Rio Alto Ebro, 15km down river. Position- 1st:
After a good nights rest we arrived at the final race of the circuit in high spirits. The Ebro is a fast flowing river with some exciting rapids, a few tight turns, lots of over hanging trees and a decent weir. Even the long pools have a lot of water movement making this river far more suitable to South African paddlers.
We had an average start and after the first rapid we were part of a 3 boat break away. About 5km into the race the other 2 boats went a bit wide on a sharp corner rapid and got tangled in some trees. We took advantage by cutting the corner and put in a hard surge. Our boat felt the best it ever had and it was just gliding almost effortlessly through the water. By the finish we had opened up a healthy lead and were extremely content to finish off our Spanish tour with a win!

Rio Piseurga, 14km down river. Position- 1st.
Ryan and I were very excited to arrive at the first of the proper ‘South African type’ races. Fast flowing water, about 5 nice weirs and some half descent rapids meant we would be in for an exciting day!
4km into the race we broke away with one of the other really strong K2 crews. We were able to share the work load with this other boat in order to keep off the chasing boats. With about 5km to go Ryan noticed the other crew taking a bit of strain through one of the rapids. We put in a hard surge and were able to open up a reasonable size gap. We then managed to find a solid rhythm and push through to claim our first win in Spain. Happy but possibly slightly more relieved to be able to return to South Africa with a win under the belt!

Rio Carrion, 8km flat water race. Position -3rd.
We arrived in Guardo for the Rio Carrion race after an impressive but very long drive over the Asturian mountains. Although we took the ’scenic’ route much to the dismay of my passengers it was still really beautiful.
Guardo compares to a small town in the middle of the Karroo and there seems to be not much at all happening there. Somehow though, half an hour before the race, almost out of nowhere hundreds of spectators pile onto the river bank to come and watch. The atmosphere was amazing and I had to give a live interview in Spanish 10 minutes before the start of the race. I think I was more nervous for the interview in a foreign language than the actual race!
We had a good start but after 500m one of the Spanish crews lost control and along with themselves knocked us off the bunch allowing two other boats to break clear. We chased hard for a short while but to no avail and had to settle onto the second bunch of 5 boats. Half way into the race we put the hammer down and pulled away from the second group of boats to claim a comfortable 3rd place. Our first time on the podium on this trip but still knowing that we were possibly capable of doing a little better.

Riba de Sella international K4 race- 6km flat water. Position- 4th.
The crew was made up of myself, Trent Lamble, Dave Maritz and Ryan Louw. Trent and Dave had been putting in some big training sessions in London so the four of us were amped for a solid race. Our boat as usual was not the best but at least they gave us one that floated! This must be the only K4 race in the world where the start is a le mans. That meant the front 3 paddlers waiting in the boat while Ryan, the 4th paddler had to start on the bank! They used the exact paddle gate system that was used for Sella. Every crew had their number 4 paddler with their paddles locked in the start gate waiting to be released. Ryan had a quick run across the sand and was in the boat before we knew it. As a result we pulled away amongst the leading boats. at the first turn 3 boats got away from us but the chasing group worked hard all the way through. The South African crew was combining well and by the final turn with 1.5km to go we had once again made contact with the leaders. The effort of chasing so hard had taken its toll on us though and the 3 boats once again edged slowly away… After a gutsy paddle to say the least we crossed the line in 4th place. Just off the podium but happy with the fact that the 4 of us had given it our all.

Villaviciosa, 9km flat water race. Position- 6th.
What would a Sella trip be without a little taste of the Sella after party?
After minimal sleep Ryan and I had to dig up the energy to go and race against some of the worlds top flat water paddlers. The prize money being equal to that of the Sella for the top crews but better due to the fact that there was money all the way down to 10th position.
We did not have the best of starts in our sluggish river boat and were immediately out of the top 10! After about 1km we found another gear and managed to start working our way up into the money. With every position that we made up being valued at R1000 it was more than enough of an incentive!
Although our position does not say much we had a brilliant race to end in 6th place, not very far at all  off the 5th placed boat who were in their fancy flat water boat. The 5th place guys were the same crew that came 2nd to Cam and I in the world championships last year.

Sella Descent 2009

 

We woke up to a pretty chilly morning of drizzle and a river running at the perfect level. What makes the Sella one of the worlds most exciting races is that the entire field starts at once. The boat seeded number one all the way to the ones in the thousands are lined up on the waters edge. All the paddlers have their paddles locked in a starting gate system that correlates to their seeding. Once the start is sounded absolute chaos is unleashed onto the river.
With our 8th place seeding and although we got tangled in a mess of paddles we still managed to pull away in 2nd place. The pace of the leading boat was just out of this world and it did not take long for them to effortlessly pull away from the entire field.
After that 2 more boats managed to get ahead of us before we settled into a bunch comprised of the 4 boats from positions 4th to 7th.
Coming into the final sprint for the line we came up to challenge 4th placed and leading boat in our bunch of 4. With 200m to go we were neck and neck and fighting hard. 50m to go the wheels fell off and they edged ahead also dragged the next boat along with them. After an extremely tough 20km battle we had to settle for a slightly disappointing 6th place…
Although we were hoping for a slightly better result we need to try and be content with the fact that there are still so many people that feel that we didn’t actually do too badly. Fortunately we still had the privilege of being invited up onto the stage to recieve our trophies with the other top contenders.

Spain, Spain, Spain!

We arrived in the province of Asturias in Northern Spain on Tuesday. This is definately one of my favourite places in the world and I am always so excited to come back here! We are in the small town of Arriondas which is the starting point for one of the worlds’ most prestigious races the Sella Descent which starts no Saturday.
I am paddling k2 with Ryan Louw. We have managed to have some great paddles on the river and our boat is really going nicely. Besides the fact that Ryans’ bags have still not arrived from the airport we are feeling positive!
The official seedings were drawn this afternoon and we are delighted with our 8th place draw.
Tomorrow we will be completing the last of our race preparation as we’ll be training on the final 4km section of the course.

Training Camp- A Huge Success

The 3 weeks spent at Nagle Dam proved to be extremely beneficial. Being part of such a strong training group gave all of us the motivation to push ourselves that little bit harder.
I am very happy with how my body is feeling and I am happy to say that my boat is going faster than it has in quite a while.
Big thank you’s definately need to go out to Marcus and Julia for all of there hard work which resulted in one of our best ever training camps!

The sprint team now heads off to Canada for the World Sprint Champs which starts in 2 weeks time.

On Monday 3 August Ryan Louw (Cradock) and I are jetting off to Spain to race on the Spanish River circuit. The Sella Descent on Saturday 8 August is the most important of all these races. Thereafter we will be traveling around Northern Spain for 2 more weeks to compete in 5 remaining races.

I will do my best to keep you up do date with the results as soon as I am able to.

Training Camp- Nagle Dam

We are almost half way through our 3 week training camp at Nagle Dam.

It is so awesome to be training with the national sprint squad and working on the much needed speed side of my training again.

We are staying in a lodge that over looks the sprint course on the dam, Table Mountain and the valley of a thousand hills in Kwa-Zulu-Natal. It is really beautiful here and I can’t believe that this is only our first training camp out here.

The vibe amongst squad members is great and to be under the guidance of Marcus Melck, Attila Adrovich and Zoltan Bako is a huge privilege.

Having Julia as our full time physio is also hugely beneficial to the team’s performance.

A catering company has been brought in to take care of our nutrition and it is mind blowing to see the endless supply of high quality food that just keeps pouring out of the kitchen.

Sports psychologist Greyling Viljoen has been visiting over the past 2 days and has been a big help with goals and motivation.

Canoeing South Africa has also purchased some new gym equipment to ensure that this camp as well as all future camps are not lacking in the gym department.

For me personally it is just amazing to see the transformation that has taken place and the professionalism that is being brought in to paddling in this country. The way things are heading this can only bode well for the future of canoeing in South Africa.

K2 win at National Marathon Trials

Shaun and I had a very comfortable race today where we won the end sprint from MacGregor and Van der Walt.
There was a very large bunch of boats when we came into the first portage. As we paddled away from the put-in of the portage there were 2 boats that broke clear of the rest of the field, ourselves and MacGregor’s. The two lead boats gradually edged ahead of the rest of the filed and opened about a 2 minute gap by the finish line. In the bunch sprint for 3rd it was Solomon and White that took the bronze medal.

At this stage it appears that Rubenstein and Jenkins will be the two K1 representatives at the world champs in Portugal in September. The K2’s should be Myself/Rubenstein and Van der Walt/MacGregor.

SA Marathon Championships/Trials K1 results

Todays racing was awesome. After the first portage in the 7 lap race there was a 4 boat break away. The front bunch was made up of Shaun, Hank, Len and myself. The 2nd group who tried really hard for a while to catch us was made up of Schoeman, Van der Walt, King and Rice.
The pace of the race varied throughout but every one of the tough 200m portages was a heated affair.
Coming out of the last portage Hank had the pull for the 200m into the last turn. Shaun was on his wave on the left for the inside of the turn and I was on his right hand wave on the outside. Len after dropping his boat just managed to catch up and sneak back onto the diamond.
Coming out of the last turn with 400m to the line Shaun put in a burst. I tried to attack on the right but Shaun was too strong. This left Hank on his wave on the right, Len on the left hand wave and me having to decide between Hanks 2nd wave or diamond. I chose the diamond for 200m before dropping round and attacking on the left for the final 100m. By this stage everyone was going max. All 4 boats finished within a second with Shaun getting the win, Len a very close 2nd, Hank 3rd and me 4th…
Exciting racing, I’m slightly disappointed with 4th but happy that I felt strong all the way through.
Tomorrow is the k2 where I’ll be hoping to redeem myself.

Ready to race!

With only 5 days remaining until race day the nerves are starting jingle a bit. This year promises to probably be one of the most exciting national marathon trials in the history of South African paddling. The racing takes place on the Keurbooms River in Plettenberg Bay.
I have been feeling really solid in my boat over these last 4 weeks and am now confident in saying that I am 100% race ready. I am expecting some of my toughest races ever in the K1 trail as well as in the K2 trial where I will be teaming up with Shaun Rubenstein.

The K1 race is going to be a hugely heated affair. Shaun raced his last marathon in 2006 where he was crowned World Champion so in theory is undefeated. Another previous World Champ Hank McGregor has just come off a good win in the worlds most prestigious ocean race the Molokai Challenge where he tore apart the world class field. Len Jenkins recently placed 5th in the 5000m World Cup race in Poland where he managed to pip a handful of paddling legends to the line. Current K2 marathon World Champ Cam Schoeman has just returned from a very successful 5 week tour of the European circuit and is hungry for a good K1 result. The confident young Lance King form Cape Town will also be chomping at the bit at the thought of being able to race with the big guns. He is most surely excited to get racing after his 2nd place finish in the SA championships last year. World class junior paddler from previous years Grant Van der Walt has now joined the senior ranks and somehow managed to find form way beyond his years. He won the SA senior surf ski title a short time ago and is really flying on the flat water. After my bronze in the K1 and gold in the K2 World Champs last year I will be doing my utmost to ensure that I am in with a shot at being one of the first 2 boats to cross the finish line on Saturday. At the World Championships in Portugal in September each country is only allowed 2 boats on the start line.

The K2 trials will be held on Sunday. Shaun and I will have to race well in order to attempt to beat crews like the Louw brothers, Hank/Grant, Cam/Stu Waterworth and Solomon/White.

I will be flying to Port Elizabeth on Thursday morning and then taking on the 2hr road trip to Plett.

Durban winters are the best!

There must be very few places in the world where you can paddle in a vest in the middle of winter. In the picture below you’ll see one of our awesome winter sun rises and in the other, the conditions that greeted me when I arrived at the lagoon this afternoon.

Although I am sad that my training partner from the last 3 and a half weeks, Ryan Louw has gone back to Cradock I am happy to say that the sprinters are back from Europe. I’ll be planning to hook up with Mike Arthur and Nic Burden again for some high quality speed sessions.

Well done to the SA Sprint Team!
Our national team did is proud in the last world cup in Szeged, Hungary. Bridgette was amazing with her gold in the 500m K1 and bronze in the 1000m K1. Shaun and Mike were mind blowing with their silver in the 200m K2 and 4th in the 500m K2. It is scary to think that they only jumped in the boat 4 or 5 times before this event. Stu and Cam for making the 1000m K2 A-final. At 18 and 20 years old the world better be ready for a lot of big results from this young combination. Not forgetting the 1000m K4 crew of Greg Louw, Nic Burden, Len Jenkins and Mike Arthur for also making it through to the A-final. Well done team!

Three weeks to D-Day

Happy to be back on track
I am very satisfied with how my training has gone over these past 2 weeks. My chiro Neil Cunningham has been working his magic on my neck and as a result I have once again been able to open up to full throttle.
Ryan Louw has been a great training partner and we have been pushing each other to the max. Ryan and I have also had some great K2 sessions in preparation for the Sella Descent on the 8th August in Spain. Once in Spain we have planned to race in 6 of the races on the circuit together.

SA marathon Trials
There are now exactly 3 weeks left until the SA Marathon trials which will be held in Plett on 27 and 28 June. I was a little worried about my form but am now confident to say that I am 100%back on track and very excited to race. I am feeling very comfortable and in control in my K1 and the K2 this year with Shaun should also be pretty quick.
This year must surely be one of the most hotly contested marathon trials in many years. There are 4 previous senior world champions, a junior world champion, a freak of nature as well as many other super fast athletes lining up.
Some of the names include; Shaun Rubenstein, Hank McGregor, Cam Schoeman, myself, Grant Van der Walt, Len Jenkins, Graeme Solomon, Lance King, Gavin White, Piers Cruickshank, The Louw brothers and Michael Mbanjwa.
The first 2 K1’s and the first 2 K2’s to cross the line will be selected for the national team. The World Marathon Championships 2009 will be held at the end of September in Portugal.

Tomorrow the National sprint team will start racing in the World Cup Sprints in Szeged, Hungary. Mike Arthur and Shaun Rubenstein will be making their debut in the 500m K2 so will be interesting to follow.
Here is the link to the Szeged world cup site.