Sixth consecutive victory for Dan Hugo at Totalsports Challenge
Specialized Racing: XTERRA | January 18, 2012
He had to dig much deeper than anticipated, but Dan Hugo proved once again that he is the undisputed king of multisport in South Africa when he won the Totalsports Challenge for a sixth consecutive time this past weekend in Kleinmond.
Hugo's winning time over the seven disciplines - 12km surfs, 1.5km swim, 50km road bike, 13km road run, 13km K1 paddle, 25km mountain bike and 9km beach run - was 6 hours, 18 minutes and 28 seconds. Stuart Marais (6:23.20) and good friend Dylan Van Der Merwe (7:18.05) joined him on the winner's podium.
For the first three disciplines all went according to plan for Hugo, but it was with the 13km road run from Kleinmond to Arabella that the drama started to unfold. Marais passed Hugo at a high speed and didn't let up. "I didn't expect a fight, but soon found myself on the wrong side taking punches. There were even thoughts of just letting it go, but I really like a good battle."
To the surprise of all waiting at Arabella for the 13km K1 paddle Marais had a lead of about 3 minutes on Hugo. Only seconds separated them when Hugo got out of the water in first place, but Marais took a beating on the river. Hugo left transition more than a minute before Marais. "I had to dig deeper and thankfully there was something left in the tank. I didn't know what the situation was till the last 4.5km of the beach run. I backed down when I saw the gap, but the damage was done."
Hugo admitted that he was caught by surprised with Marais' performance. "I have respect for his talent. He is a remarkable athlete."
All in all it was a good day at the office for Hugo. And not only because of his victory. "My family was great again. I would not be able to do this without them."