Cape Town, 20 December 2007:OSCAR Chalupsky heads into this weekend's Men's Health Cape Point Challenge with a target on his broad shoulders and a determination to prove a point.
Chalupsky generations: Oscar (44), Paul (70) and Luke (15)
Saturday's 56km race from Scarborough to Fish Hoek is the last race of the year for paddlers to pick up points in the Surfski.info World Series Rankings and series leader Chalupsky just has to finish among the leaders to increase his lead in the standings.
The 44-year-old Chalupsky leads the ranking with 618 points, 35 ahead of Tahitian Lewis Laughlin with Dawid Mocke from Cape Town third on 538 points. Laughlin will not be at the Cape Point Challenge this weekend which means Chalupsky is almost certain to increase his lead in the standings, but he is the first to point out that it is something of a false lead.
"The best six results count at the end of the series and this will only be the fifth race that counts," said Chalupsky from Cape Town where he is preparing for Saturday's event. "Once the paddlers start discarding races and only counting their best six the order will change.
Cape Point! (Simon Blackburn rounds the point earlier this year) (Pic: Alan van Gysen)
"Probably second to Dawid"
"I am probably lying second in real terms with Dawid, who has raced one event less than me, probably the top paddler ... but we need to see what happens in the next few races.
"This weekend's race is a one-star race which means it is only worth 50 points for the winner, but as the series leader the other paddlers are going to be a little more determined to beat me."
But Chalupsky has his own reason for wanting a win. Last time out, in the Perth World Cup two weeks ago, the experienced international campaigner was controversially relegated to third after incurring a time penalty for missing a buoy when he misheard and instruction from a race official. The paddlers who were promoted above him in Perth, Clint Pretorius and Darryl Bartho, are both expected to be at the Cape Point Challenge, giving Chalupsky an extra reason for wanting to win.
Strong Field
If recent form on the international circuit is anything to go by, Chalupsky, Mocke, Pretorius and Bartho will be the paddlers at the front of the pack on Saturday. However, the Cape Town pair of Peter Cole and Paul Marais have not been doing the international races recently, and while the jet setters have been traveling around the world they have been training hard at home and are sure to be up front and challenging for victory.
Three Generations of Chalupsky
This weekend's race is something of a Chalupsky look back into the future with three generations of the famous paddling family taking part. Oscar's father Paul, a Springbok canoeist and surfski paddler from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, in on holiday from Brisbane Australia and will be racing. Oscar and his brother Herman are both aiming for victory, while Oscar's teenage son Luke is also taking part to complete a three-generation challenge.
Luke has already shown an aptitude for canoeing and surfski paddling by being included in a KZN Schools team earlier this year.
Latest World Series Rankings
1 Oscar Chalupsky RSA 618 (4 races)
2 Lewis Laughlin TAH 583 (4 races)
3 Dawid Mocke RSA 538 (3 races)
4 Bevan Manson RSA 489 (4 races)
5 Dean Gardiner AUS 481 (3 races)
6 Daryl Bartho RSA 468 (3 races)
7 Barry Lewin RSA 434 (3 races)
8 Michael Baker AUS 416 (3 races)
9 Herman Chalupsky RSA 390 (3 races)
10 Clint Pretorius RSA 376 (2 races)
[Editor: the weather is looking good for a spectacular paddle around Cape Point - according to windguru and buoyweather, the strong southeaster of Friday evening is expected to decrease in strength during the early hours of Saturday morning. The forecast is for a bright sunny day - and the first 27km or so will be into a cooling SE breeze. The second half of the race might take its toll on the paddlers as they'll be going with the light wind - best they take plenty of liquids...]
CPC 2005 Video
Alain Jaques put together this overview of the 2005 event.
Inquiring minds want to know... written by Steve Hansen,
December 20, 2007
Could someone give us a little background on the Chalupsky clan? Are they originally fron Australia? Why is father Paul in Oz and the boys in South Africa? Was Paul a famous paddler in his own right? What's the origin of the family name?
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... written by Joe,
December 20, 2007
paul chalupsky is a german national who moved to SA in the late 50's or 60s -- not sure which. he is considered one of the pioneers as far as bringing scientific training to river and ocean kayaking in SA. he was the 'oscar' of his day, winning the prestigeous Stella in Spain back in the 60's. oscar and herman picked up where he left off (walter, their third son, was a solid paddler but didn't kept at it like his two older brothers. the senior chalupsky moved to Oz a few years back and lives there today. is there a faster 70 year old ski paddler on the planet?
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top 10 written by Joe,
December 20, 2007
i'm curious who else will be in the field that can crack the top 10 other than: Chalupsky, Mocke, Pretorius and Bartho, as well as the Cape Town pair of Peter Cole and Paul Marais. Is Herman paddling? do you know rob?
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