Mtolo, Khwela take slender Dusi Canoe Marathon lead into Day 2

Msawenkosi Mtolo and Sbonelo Khwela lived up to their pre-race hype when they claimed the opening leg of the Dusi Canoe Marathon from Bishopstowe Hall to the new Day 1 finish at Mphaya Bridge on Thursday - but their lead is not comfortable.

A massive surge over the closing kilometres from the old finish at Dusi Bridge to the new end point, means 13-time race winner Andy Birkett and Matthew Fenn are lurking dangerously, just 26 seconds off the leading crew. Looking ahead to Days 2 and 3, the smart bet would probably be on a 14th victory for the former World Champion and his young Eastern Cape partner.

The women's race looked to be heading on a similar trajectory to the men's, with Abby Solms and her schoolgirl partner, Jessica Behn, building a solid early lead on Day 1, only for Bridgitte Hartley and Hilary Bruss to start making inroads into the deficit.

However, a decision to paddle around the tough Cabbage Tree portage late in the race - while Solms and Behn took the traditional run option - meant Hartley and Bruss suddenly lost huge chunks of time. A gap that was down to just over a minute before the portage-or-paddle decision, ballooned to over nine minutes over the final third of the 36km stage.

That gap is going to make things tough for Hartley and Bruss, and even though they may feel they can make up time on Day 2 - which is now very much a paddlers' stage, with just one major portage - it is hard to see them claw back that much of a disadvantage.

Sitting in third in the women's race is the Jenna Nisbet and Nix Birkett crew, who are likely to also enjoy the faster-flowing uMngeni River and deep water of the Inanda Dam on Friday. They are six minutes behind Hartley and Bruss and will be hoping to make some inroads into