Hank McGregor and Jasper Mocké win K2 SA Marathon Championships
World Champion paddlers, Hank McGregor (Jeep Team) and Jasper Mocké, formed a mighty duo at the 2015 South African Flat-water Marathon Championships on Sunday, clinching the K2 victory after a thrilling sprint finish against five-time Dusi winner, Andrew Birkett and racing partner Greg Louw.
The two teams were racing neck-and-neck for most of the race at Camps Drift in Pietermaritzburg, relentlessly trying to expose any sign of weakness at sprint intervals. As they lined up side-by-side for the final 200m sprint, McGregor and Mocké found the energy to burst ahead and secure the title. Brandon van der Walt and Stu McLaren finished 3rd.
“It feels fantastic to win another South African title and defend the title we won last year,” said McGregor. “One step at a time, now we can start to focus on going to the World Champs to try and defend the world title we won last year. This is the toughest marathon team in the world to earn a place in, and the standard of racing today reflected that.” he added.
Sunday’s K2 race concluded an exhilarating weekend of racing, with McGregor narrowly missing out on the K1 2015 South African Marathon Championships title to Birkett on Saturday, 6 June.
Just days after placing 2nd place at the Molokai Surfski World Championships in Hawaii, McGregor did well to take the K1 South African Marathon Championships silver medal in 2h13m37s after a deadly end sprint that saw Birkett claim gold in 2h13m35m and Mocké finish 3rd in 2h13m40s.
Other Jeep Team News…
Multisport
Jeep Team’s Mikaela Jonsson also achieved outstanding results over the weekend, claiming Gold in her category (U19 Women) at the KwaZulu-Natal Duathlon Championships, which took place at the Toyota Test Track in Eston. Jonsson finished the duathlon in 1h10m53s, ahead of Micaela Sclanders in 2nd in 1h14m44s and Daniella Arrigo in 3rd in 1h16m29s.
MTB
Jeep Team’s Pierre Smith headed to the North West to compete in Race#4 of Ashburton Investments’ National MTB Series, which took place at Van Gaalen Cheese Farm on Saturday, 6 June.
The 111-km Ultra Marathon doubled as the 2015 SA National MTB Marathon Championships, attracting South Africa’s top riders, including Nico Bell, Gawie Combrinck and Arno Du Toit.
Smith placed 23rd in the Elite category in a time of 5h37m7s. Combrinck secured the Men’s Elite title in a time of 4h46m53s, with Bell in 2nd in 4h47m32s and Konny Looser in 3rd in 4h47m33s.
On Sunday, Jeep Team’s rising Downhill star, Gregg Browne, just missed the Junior Men’s podium when he placed 4th at the KZN Downhill Championships, which took place at the Cascades MTB Park in Pietermaritzburg.
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