Cape Town 22 Dec 2007 Durban paddler Darryl Bartho snatched victory in the gruelling 56km Men's Health Cape Point Challenge surf ski marathon, ending a title drought during which he has regularly been the runner-up in many major events.

Daryl Bartho (1st), Paul Marais (3rd), Jasper Mocke (5th), Pete Cole (2nd), Dawid Mocke (4th) (Pic: Rob Mousley)

Bartho Delighted 

A delighted Bartho ran up the beach at Fish Hoek to claim the title, and with it points on the newly formed World Series rankings, after downing local star Peter Cole in a well timed and carefully judged challenge over the final twenty minutes from Simonstown to the finish.

"It feels fantastic to win a big one," said Bartho afterwards. "After finishing second in four World Cups, I was getting teased about being the bridesmaid, but now I can put that behind me."

Bartho went into the race with a mature and cautious game plan, eager to conserve energy after a tough fortnight competing in Dubai and Australia. "I was worried about the 56km distance, and I knew I had to conserve myself and keep the speed for later. Luckily, no one did anything too rash in the early stages."

Daryl wins CPC 2007 (Pic: Justin Vellacott Gameplan Media)

Early start

From the early morning start at Soetwater, the field paddled into a mild headwind to the Point, where the moderate conditions made for a relatively easy passage around a stretch of coastline notorious for its brutal sea conditions.

Sunrise - the start at Soetwater (Pic: Justin Vellacott Gameplan Media)

At the compulsory ten minute stop at Buffels Bay, Bartho was thirty second behind Peter Cole, with another class Cape veteran Paul Marais close behind. Dawid Mocke, who had been crippled by a virus since his return from Dubai and Australia, was a distant tenth place, and struggling with nausea.

Shortly after resuming the race, Marais caught Bartho, and then linked up with Cole on a straighter line to the finish at Fish Hoek. "I saw Cole and Marais making good time to my right, and I started angling my runs more to the right to stay in touch with them, all the time reminding myself not to go too hard," Bartho said.

With Oscar Chalupsky in the background, the leaders approached the lighthouse off Simonstown, six kilometres from the finish, when Bartho decided to intensify his pace, sensing that Cole, the 1997 champion, was tiring in the closing stages.

The 30 year old Durbanite kept his head down and gradually opened up a gap on Cole, with Marais in third, and Dawid Mocke completing a spectacular second half recovery to finish fourth.

Bianca Beavitt won the women's title (Pic: Justin Vellacott Gameplan Media)

Bianca Beavitt won the women's title from Jackie Barnes, wrapping up a successful summer in which she has been the dominant force on the Discovery men's health Single Ski Series.

The double ski title went to the Callebaut brothers, Julian and Christian, while in a ding-dong battle for the mixed doubles crown, locals Ian Bailey and Antje Manfroni managed to hold off Americans Patrick and Deanne Hemmens.

Double ski winners Julian and Christian Callebaut (Pic: Alain Jaques)

It's the biggest win of my Career," admitted Bartho afterwards, but he downplayed its significance in terms of the newly formed World Series rankings. "It's only a one star event, so I get fifty points for winning it. The reality is that I will probably end up discarding these points, as I will get more points for a lesser position at another event with a higher status on the tour."
Bartho has set his sights on the three-star event in Puerto Rico in March as a prime opportunity to extend his foothold on the world rankings.

The event was largely incident free, thanks to the mild sea conditions, tough some participants battled with the heat in the latter stages.

Santa going around the Point (Pic: Justin Vellacott Gameplan Media)

Full Results

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