McGregor wins Berg River Canoe Marathon

Starting in a massed start for the 56 kilometre final stage from Zoutkloof to the West Coast fishing town of Velddrif, all McGregor had to do was stay with the front bunch to secure his overall race victory. After a flawless day on a full river, McGregor sprinted away from a six boat bunch in the closing stages to cross the finish line alone where he celebrated his sixth title in style.

"This is such a special race to take part in, let alone to win," said McGregor. "The obstacles and the sheer distances of each stage makes it the toughest race I have ever done. Ever since I was kid growing up in the Cape I wanted to do this race, and dreamt of possibly winning it."

McGregor also savoured the shared record with "King of the Berg" Robbie Herreveld. "It's fantastic to share his record," said McGregor. "Simply to be mentioned in the same sentence as Robbie is an honour and a privilege. Maybe he will make a comeback next year and we can race it together!"

His finish was more dramatic than anticipated, as he saw a five hundred metre lead that he had worked hard for in his solo charge evaporate as the five chasers took a short-cut on the long final loop in the river before Velddrif.

"For the start of the race, this sneak channel was banned," said a clearly frustrated McGregor. "When I got to Oordraplek I double-checked with the race official, who told me that we had to stay in the main channel, which is what I did. I was very surprised to see the five boat chasing bunch suddenly arrive on my tail a hundred metres behind me at the finish."

The full river also caused some anxious moments for the front bunch as they charged down the full river and across flooded vleis. "It was a bit nerve racking," admitted McGregor. "At one stage we got stuck in a fence and had to break the wire to get free. We then ran out of water and had to carry our boats for two hundred metres to get back into the river."

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