Paddlers at the start of the second leg of the Dusi Canoe Marathon at KwaXimba will be taking on the longest and hardest stage of the three-day race.
This leg of the race which started at 6am is 46 kilometres from the Dusi Bridge at KwaXimba to the Msinsi Resort at Inanda Dam at Hillcrest.
The last 11 kilometres of the stage will be on flat water.
Eight-time back-to-back Dusi winner Andy Birkett along with his partner David Evans will have to strategise to outrun Thulani Mbanjwa and Musawenkosi Mtolo, who ended the first leg in the first place with a 32-second lead.
Birkett and Evans say there is strong competition for a podium finish.
Birkett says, “Day one of Dusi is always tough. There is always a lot of competition where you run with your boat. Mbanjwa and Musa were really strong today. They were running well and paddling well but we were happy to have such a close race and they were pushing us all the way. They got 30 seconds on us but it was cat and mouse all the way. We were catching them, they were getting away the whole time, it was an exciting race.”
“Getting the opportunity to paddle with someone like Andy who has won the race so many times is quite an experience, so yah, it was a privilege to paddle with him today, it was a new experience for me and it was really good,” added Evans.
The results for day 1 of the #MyLifeDusiCanoeMarathon mens batch are :
T. Mbanjwa & M.Mtoli = 1st (02:39:49)
A.Birkett & D.Evans = 2nd (02:40:22)
N.Makhanya & S.Kwhela = 3rd (02:42:30g)— Dusi Canoe Marathon (@DusiCanoe) February 17, 2022
Superb conditions as the 2022 MyLife Dusi has commenced with the big day of running and paddling! ? ?
Take in the scenes from Camps Drift to Dusi Bridge. ?
Follow the racing live on our Instagram stories!#MyLifeDusi #MyLifeDusiCanoeMarathon pic.twitter.com/Q1yEUWNoVo
— Dusi Canoe Marathon (@DusiCanoe) February 17, 2022
