Knysna\u2019s Tom Lovemore duly secured his first Berg River Canoe Marathon win when he swept across the line ahead of the leading bunch at the finish of the 57-km Stage 4 in a sunny Velddrif on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In doing so, Lovemore denied 52-year old local veteran Robbie Herreveld \u2013 who won the event six times in the 90s \u2013 an astonishing comeback victory. On the day, Herreveld was also battling the effects of a stomach ailment and could not hold on to Lovemore and a group of four other youngsters on the closing stages of the four-day event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lovemore took a narrow advantage into the 57 km final stage of the 2024 Berg River Canoe Marathon after he edged Herreveld out in the final dash for the line for the third day in a row on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the long 75 km Queen Stage from Bridgetown to Zoutkloof, Lovemore secured a crucial three seconds ahead going into Saturday\u2019s final battle into Hereveld\u2019s home town at Velddrif, which proved to be enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeremy Maher finished with the leading bunch to secure third place overall, ahead of Msawenkosi Mtolo and Heinrich Schloms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another paddler who had a difficult day was women\u2019s leader Stephanie von der Heyde, who had to overcome a broken rudder cable to secure the win in spite of finishing second on the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no better feeling in the world than to come into Velddrif with a bunch of mates,\u201d said Lovemore as he walked out of the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He paid tribute to Herrevelds remarkable effort and said the veteran had hung in until the Oordraplek portage not far from the finish. \u201cThen a group of the younger guys got away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herreveld and a small group chased the leaders until the end, but by the time he crossed the line his overall deficit had widened to one minute and 30 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herreveld said he had \u201cstomach problems last night [Friday] so it was a survival game\u2026 that was a long four hours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He paid tribute to Lovemore\u2019s strength and speed, and revealed that during the final stage \u201cTom had encouraged me and helped keep me going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Herreveld last won the iconic four-day marathon from Paarl to Velddrif 28 years ago. He said that before this year\u2019s event he had hoped to finish, at best, between fifth and eighth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Von der Heyde said she had been saved when a fellow paddler with a spare cable handed it over to her in a classic \u201cspirit of the Berg\u201d gesture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After dropping behind stage winner Neriyah Dill soon after the start of the stage, she clawed her way back until the final portage, where she stopped again to check the cable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dill got ahead and held her lead to the finish in what she described as \u201cpretty windy conditions in the last 8 km.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Von der Heyde said that after dropping back at the portage she had paddled \u201cto keep Neriyah in view\u201d because she knew she had an eight-minute cushion over the previous three stages. She described the conditions on Saturday as \u201cfantastic\u201d. \u201cI have done this in a howling headwind\u2026 but it was not like that today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Results:<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> Men<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Tom Lovemore 18:39:00<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 Robbie Herreveld 18:40:41<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 Jeremy Maher 18:54:11<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 Msawenkosi Mtolo 18:56:05<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 Heinrich Schloms 19:03:46<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6 Siseko Ntondini 19:10:54<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7 Thabani Msia 19:18:35<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8 Paul Marais 19:20:09<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9 Siyanda Gwamanda 19:41:50<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10 Divieano Pietersen 20:11:09<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n .<\/span> Women<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Stephanie Von Der Heyde 21:59:54<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 Neriyah Dill 22:05:21<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 Tayla Isaac 23:38:46.39<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 Ansune Basson 23:50:43.93<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5 Dominique Desmeules 25:20:10.98<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Knysna\u2019s Tom Lovemore duly secured his first Berg River Canoe Marathon win when he swept across the line ahead of the leading bunch at the finish of the 57-km Stage 4 in a sunny Velddrif on Saturday 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