WESTERN CAPE, 19 JULY 2016 – The 55^th annual Berg River Canoe Marathon took place from Wednesday 13^th July to Saturday 16^th July 2016 and saw paddlers from all over the world competing in the 4-day stage race covering 240 km from Paarl to Velddrif in the Western Cape.

It was a warm winter’s day in the Swartland for the first stage of the Berg River Canoe Marathon, matched with some heated racing on tough, low-water river conditions that eventually saw defending champions, Hank McGregor, set up an overnight lead after the 62km first stage.

With an eleventh Berg title in his sights, McGregor also claimed the first-to-bridge prize at the Hermon Bridge, going into the second stage of the race with a significant advantage in that he takes with him his time trial winning margin, which took his overall lead over Simon van Gysen to just 20 seconds, with Adrian Boros in third place overall, despite his second place finish on the Wednesday.

On Day Two, McGregor, with a lead of 20 seconds over Van Gysen, cut his head open on a branch – an accident, which opened a one minute gap for Van Gysen to get ahead. McGregor caught Van Gysen as they made their way from Zonquasdrift to Bridgetown, but the last two kilometres made all the difference. McGregor powered through to the finish as a tired Van Gysen was unable to keep up. The Hungarian, Adrian Boros, battled with the stage, allowing McGregor to gain a solid lead.

McGregor said: “I knew in the last few kilometres that I had to put the hammer down and I got a bit of a gap and I am happy with the result and another stage win”.

The infamous 72km third stage of the 2016 Berg River Canoe Marathon saw plenty of drama as the international duo of Adrian Boros and Petr Mojžíšek matched McGregor right up to the final end sprint.

The 72km stage from Bridgetown to Zoutkloof threatened to produce the goods following an exciting bunch start in the morning, which set off at a blistering pace, and the front group of four, McGregor, Boros, Mojžíšek, and local, Edgar Boehm Jnr, opened a significant gap at the first portage at the Misverstand Dam wall.

Said McGregor “A 72km stage is never going to be easy and it hurts, it doesn’t matter who you are. I was just really chuffed to be on the front bunch and I appreciated the great sportsmen that I was racing with.” 

Despite the running repairs overnight, Jeep Team /Euro Steel/Kayak Centre star, Hank McGregor, won a well-contested end sprint on Friday’s stage 3, and with it, cemented his place at the front of the race for stage 4’s final 60 kilometre into Velddrif, the final hurdle between him and an eleventh Berg title.

Reaching the final day of the Berg River Marathon, McGregor started with a seven minute advantage, and this was enough to cement his eleventh Berg title win.  The world champion paddler was seldom seen alone in the stages of the race, but he managed to take the lead from the time trial to the end keeping a consistent speed throughout the marathon, leading to his eleventh Berg River Canoe Marathon title victory.

Concluded McGregor, “It’s not every day that you race against guys that you raced against in separate World Championships where they both came second behind me, but this year’s race was definitely a prestigious one with a couple world champions and a couple world champ medallists on the start line.”

RESULTS MEN

DAY ONE

1. HANK MCGREGOR 4:28:59.88
2. SIMON VAN GYSEN 4:29:22.80
3. ADRIAN BOROS 4:29:41.19

DAY TWO

1. HANK MCGREGOR 3:26:16.40
2. SIMON VAN GYSEN 3:27:11.00
3. ADRIAN BOROS 3:42:21.05

DAY THREE

1. HANK MCGREGOR 5:24:50.77
2. SIMON VAN GYSEN 5:31:10.71
3. ADRIAN BOROS 5:24:55.20

DAY FOUR

1. HANK MCGREGOR 4:17:32.49
2. SIMON VAN GYSEN 4:17:34.03
3. ADRIAN BOROS 4:20:25.98

FINAL RESULT

1. HANK MCGREGOR 17:37:39.55
2. SIMON VAN GYSEN 17:45:18.55
3. ADRIAN BOROS 17:57:23.43

Have a look at the following platforms to keep up to date with Jeep Team SA:

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For more information, please contact:
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5 JULY 2016, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – Canoe king, Hank McGregor (Jeep Team), continued his world-class reign of legendary back-to-back victories to claim his fourth Investec Mauritius Ocean Classic title on Saturday, 2 July 2016. The 26km event, which took place near Black River, Mauritius, also doubled as Round 1 of the 2016 ICF Ocean Racing World Cup, which is a new, three-part series on the world surfski calendar. Paddlers faced rough 25-knot downwind conditions at Saturday’s race, with McGregor commenting that “conditions were pretty wild out there, it was super cool! There were some wide-eyed paddlers.” It was a close race against McGregor (Jeep Team), with Australia’s Cory Hill and Michael Booth, and South Africa’s Jasper Mocké and Barry Lewin (Jeep Team), all battling it out for the title until the final two kilometres where McGregor edged ahead to claim the win in 1h08. Hill finished 2nd in 1h09, followed by Booth in 3rd (1h10), Mocké 4th (1h11m30) and Lewin 5th (1h11m57).

Said McGregor, “The final 2km saw us head into the notorious Le Morne Pass, where it’s a hard slog against strong headwinds to the end. I was able to get the lead going into this point, managing to keep it at three hundred metres all the way to the finish. I’m stoked with my fourth win here in a top-class field. The Mauritius Ocean Classic is one of my favourite surfski events as it is a very family-orientated race. This year, my wife Pippa and son Thorsten were here with me, and it was awesome to have their support!” Said Lewin, “I’m stoked with my 5th place finish in Mauritius. Love racing the top guys in the world, and the challenge of a wild ocean. Can't wait for next year.” Round 2 of the ICF Ocean Racing World Cup, the Nelo Summer Challenge, takes place in Portugal this weekend, 8 - 10 July 2016. The third and final event is happening in Tahiti in September 2016. It’s turning into another remarkable year for canoe king McGregor as he proves an unbeatable force in world surfski. At the end of May, he conquered the world’s toughest surfski ultra marathon, the 53km Maui Jim Molokai Surfski Challenge in Hawaii, for a third time. Just a few days later, he won the world’s oldest surfski event, the Illovo Pirates Umhlanga Pirates Surfski Race, in Durban. Then on 29 June, McGregor claimed victory at the FNB Durban Downwind, which is a 2016 World Surfski Series title event. In-between these surfski races, he also won the K1 title at the 2016 South African Canoe Marathon Championships in Cape Town, a result which has qualified him for the 2016 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships taking place in Germany later this year.

2016 INVESTEC MAURITIUS OCEAN CLASSIC RESULTS:

1. Hank McGregor (SA) - 1:08:46
2. Cory Hill (AUS) - 1:09:43
3. Michael Booth (AUS) - 1:10:18
4. Jasper Mocké (SA) - 1:11:30
5. Barry Lewin (SA) - 1:11:57

Other Jeep Team Results: BMX Jeep Team’s 16-year-old BMX athlete, Alex Dolman, took on riders much older than himself this weekend, as he competed in the Elite category at Rounds 4, 5 and 6 of the 2016 SA BMX National Age Group Series, which took place at the Rhino and Lion Reserve in Gauteng. Dolman managed to place 8th overall. OCR On Saturday, Jeep Team’s OCR champion, Thomas van Tonder, completed the Wolf Pack Challenge, an extreme, but fun, trail running event in Gauteng where there are no winners or losers. Started by Herman Mulder, the event has been designed for trail runners looking for a hard-core, no frills, back-to-basics physical challenge. The challenge comprised of five ascents of the Magaliesburg to the beacon above the Hartbeespoort Aerial Cableway. This equalled 1600m ascent over 21km.

Have a look at the following platforms to keep up to date with Jeep Team SA:

• Website: www.jeepteam.co.za
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeepteamsa
• Twitter: @jeepteamsa Instagram: JeepTeamSA

Editors’ Notes
For more information please contact Bronwen Blunden on 079 060 1905 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

15 JUNE 2016, CAPE TOWN – In a fierce showdown, multiple world-champion paddler, Hank McGregor (Jeep Team), claimed the K1 2016 South African Canoe Marathon Championship title just split seconds ahead of Andy Birkett and Brandon van der Walt at the 2016 South African Canoe Marathon Championships, which took place at Zandvlei, Cape Town, on 11 June 2016.  

The result was a reversal of the 2015 outcome where Birkett narrowly pipped McGregor to the title after a similar hard-fought sprint finish.

It was set to be a nail-biting championship from the get go, with South Africa’s best paddlers fighting for the limited two spots per age category on the South African team heading to the 2016 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Brandenburg, Germany, in September.

Following the weekend’s results, both McGregor and Birkett will be representing South Africa in the Senior Men’s K1 event at the World Championships, where McGregor will be gunning for a fourth consecutive K1 World title.

Saturday’s K1 race took place in tough cold and windy conditions at the Peninsula Canoe Club in Zandvlei.  At the fourth portage, a set-back saw Birkett fall out his boat. In a show of true sportsmanship, McGregor waited while Birkett climbed back into his boat, with the duo then racing to catch up with the group of paddlers in front.

In the final 200m of the race, McGregor, Birkett and Van der Walt edged ahead of the pack, leading to the exhilarating final sprint, with the three paddlers finishing within split seconds of each other in 2h14m17s.

Said McGregor, “It’s an exposed course, and pretty much the first port of call when the wind coming from the South Pole hits Africa. On Saturday it was windy, but these unpredictable conditions turned it into more of a surfski race, so the experienced surfski paddlers definitely had the advantage! I am stoked with this win. Thanks to everyone for all your support on the bank and well done to all the competitors on a solid, very challenging race.”

On Sunday in the K2 SA Championships, a last minute change of plans saw McGregor partner with Siseko Ntondini, instead of Jasper Mocke who withdrew due to illness.

Birkett / Louis Hattingh won the K2 event with Van der Walt / Stu McLaren in 2^nd, and McGregor / Ntondini in 3^rd.

RESULTS: SENIOR MEN K1

1. Hank McGregor - 2:14:17
2. Andy Birkett - 2:14:17
3. Brandon van der Walt - 2:14:19

RESULTS: SENIOR MEN K2

1. Andy Birkett/Louis Hattingh - 2:00:26
2. Brandon der Walt /Stu McLaren - 2:00:28
3. Hank McGregor/Siseko Ntondini - 2:01:28 

#JeepTeamSA                 

Editors’ Notes

PHOTO CAPTION: Hank McGregor and Siseko Ntondini during the 2016 K2 SA Canoe Marathon Championships in Zandvlei, Cape Town. Photographer: John Hishin / Gameplan Media