Day two of 240 kilometre Berg River Canoe Ultra Marathon got underway in icy cold and wet conditions.
Race leaders Graeme Solomon and Adrian Boros stamped their authority on the race when they dominated the 33 kilometre stage from Hermon Bridge to Bridgetown.
The stage began with an elapsed start, Solomon and Boros with a one minute and 40 second advantage from day one over Englishman Keith Moule and Joep van Bakkel of the Netherlands.
Conditions were cold and wet, resulting from a cold front that pushed in over the Western Cape.
The race favourites strengthened their grip on the overall lead after the pair put in a flawless display on the second day of the Berg River Canoe Marathon, extending their lead to over 10 minutes on Thursday.
“It was a really good day we didn’t make a mistake I could pull well in the flat water and it worked really well and I think we did a great job,” race leader Adrian Boros.
Bianca Beavitt and Crispin Thompson consolidated their mammoth lead in the mixed doubles race but dropped down the race leader board slightly to finish Thursday’s stage in ninth position overall.
Paddlers are always nervous about day stage which is a test of endurance and resilience and where they spend most of the day on the river.
“Day 3 is a long day I mean its 75 km to give you an idea the world marathon champs is 30km so this is like 2 world marathon champs plus another 15km it’s a very long day but we ready that’s we trained for,” race leader, Graeme Solomon.
Day three is the longest in the race, a gruelling 75 kilometre stage from Bridgetown to Zoutkloof with more rain forecast.
