Despite route changes, Dusi day one sees usual suspects to the fore

Dusi Canoe Marathon favourites Andy Birkett and Christie Mackenzie took the stage honours in contrasting races after day one of the 2023 edition of the famous race. 

With the race starting at the Bishopstowe Country Club, the race began with a portage that allowed Msawenkosi Mtolo to take an early lead, with Birkett back in fifth overall. 

However, by Geoff's Road portage, Birkett was in the front of the race alongside Mtolo. 

The pair were together for the remainder of the stage until Birkett opened a small gap at the Cabbage Tree portage to eventually finish a minute ahead of Mtolo. 

Despite the reduced distance, Birkett didn't feel like the stage was any less taxing.

"It was a shorter stage, being two hours as opposed to three, but nonetheless, it was a tough stage," Birkett said.

"It was a very quick stage, and guys like Msawe (Mtolo) took off at the start, which was a shock to the system, but I enjoyed it out there and stuck to my plan and then got a gap at Cabbage Tree.

Birkett's conservative approach to the early stages of the races came after an important pre-race conversation.

"I was chatting to one of the guys before the start, and they said you can't win the race on the first portage, but you can lose it.

"You can injure yourself, or you can twist your ankle, so I had to try and take a conservative approach in the early stages because I knew that I could make up time lost there.

"Dusi is a three-day race, and it's a race of consistency, so I'll try and hold it together on day two," the ten-time defending champion mentioned.

The women's race was decidedly more one-sided as Mackenzie, looking for her third straight Dusi win, put in a dominant display that saw her lead from start to finish as she finished over 10 minutes