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Underberg - World marathon canoe hampion Hank "The Tank" McGregor rolls into Underberg this weekend relishing the opportunity to become the first person in the history of the hugely popular Global Trader Drak Challenge’s to claim a hat-trick of K1 titles.
The 2011 season, in which McGregor was unbeaten in domestic river racing post the Unlimited Dusi and went on to claim the world marathon championship title in Singapore, was one of great success for the race’s defending champion.
However, the new year brings with it fresh challenges and new goals for McGregor and he is hungry to add yet another record to his mightily impressive list of paddling achievements.
“It’s always great to head up to Underberg and take on some of the best K1 specialists around. The Drak is such a great race and it would be absolutely fantastic to win it again this year,” said McGregor.
“Obviously I’d love be the first to win the race three times in a row in a single but I’ve always said that you only worry about stats once you’re across the finish line so we’ll just have to wait and see how things go this weekend,” he added.
With many of the country’s top river paddlers set to take on this year’s event McGregor will have his work cut out for him at the first of the majors on the paddling calendar, however the Ballito based paddling sensation is keen and ready for the challenge.
“It would be an incredible start to the year if I was able to get the win this weekend and it would hopefully set the tone for things to come but last year the competition was tough and this year looks like it could be even tougher so who knows what might happen,” said McGregor.
“Ant Stott has been injured recently but you can never write him off, Grant and Brandon van der Walt have been working hard and are hungry for a win and then there’s my Dusi partner Len Jenkins who on his day can be deadly so it’s certainly not going to be easy by any means,” he added.
McGregor’s presence on the start line will guarantee a no-holds barred tussle at the front of the race as the cream of the country’s river racers aim to topple the defending champion and register a rare victory over the new world champion.
The Global Trader Drak Challenge takes place in Underberg on 21 and 22 January 2012. More info can be found at www.drak.co.za
The 2011 season, in which McGregor was unbeaten in domestic river racing post the Unlimited Dusi and went on to claim the world marathon championship title in Singapore, was one of great success for the race’s defending champion.
However, the new year brings with it fresh challenges and new goals for McGregor and he is hungry to add yet another record to his mightily impressive list of paddling achievements.
“It’s always great to head up to Underberg and take on some of the best K1 specialists around. The Drak is such a great race and it would be absolutely fantastic to win it again this year,” said McGregor.
“Obviously I’d love be the first to win the race three times in a row in a single but I’ve always said that you only worry about stats once you’re across the finish line so we’ll just have to wait and see how things go this weekend,” he added.
With many of the country’s top river paddlers set to take on this year’s event McGregor will have his work cut out for him at the first of the majors on the paddling calendar, however the Ballito based paddling sensation is keen and ready for the challenge.
“It would be an incredible start to the year if I was able to get the win this weekend and it would hopefully set the tone for things to come but last year the competition was tough and this year looks like it could be even tougher so who knows what might happen,” said McGregor.
“Ant Stott has been injured recently but you can never write him off, Grant and Brandon van der Walt have been working hard and are hungry for a win and then there’s my Dusi partner Len Jenkins who on his day can be deadly so it’s certainly not going to be easy by any means,” he added.
McGregor’s presence on the start line will guarantee a no-holds barred tussle at the front of the race as the cream of the country’s river racers aim to topple the defending champion and register a rare victory over the new world champion.
The Global Trader Drak Challenge takes place in Underberg on 21 and 22 January 2012. More info can be found at www.drak.co.za
