Streak vs. streak to highlight 50th Clinton Canoe Regatta

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May 26, 2012

Streak vs. streak to highlight 50th Clinton Canoe Regatta

Unbeaten Hall of Famer Corbin looks to knock off six-time champ Triebold during Monday's 70-miler

By Dean Russin Sports Editor The Daily Star Sat May 26, 2012, 07:32 AM EDT

He's not just coming back for a free meal, although Serge Corbin will get one during his return to the General Clinton Canoe Regatta.

Two days after his first-class Clinton Hall of Fame induction and dinner Saturday, 28-time C-2 Pro Class champion Corbin will compete in the 70-miler from Cooperstown to Bainbridge for the first time since 2005.

"We want to win," said Corbin, 55, who will paddle down the Susquehanna River in the P50 canoe Monday with first-time Clinton partner Steve Corlew, 31. "I think that's good thinking in a boat. You work and train for it, but we'll see Monday."

Although Corbin has won the Clinton every year he's entered it, going 29-for-29 on the event's 50th anniversary isn't a gimme for the resident of St. Boniface, Quebec.

Andy Triebold of Spring Arbor, Mich., has started a C-2 Pro streak of his own since finishing second with Matt Rimer to Corbin and Jeff Kolka by 2 seconds in 2005. Triebold, 35, has won every year since _ two in a row with Rimer followed by the last four with 2012 partner Steve Lajoie of Mirabel, Quebec.

"I grew up looking at Serge as one of the greatest paddlers ever, so we wanted to be like Serge," said Lajoie, 36, who partnered with Corbin for local Canadian races from 2000-04. "He's in good shape, so I'm sure he'll be good.

"But we hope to be the guys who will end his streak," he continued. "I'm sure he's going to give everything he has on the river, but we're going to do the same."

Surely Corlew will do everything he can to keep his childhood idol's streak alive.

"I've known him a lot longer than he's known me," said Corlew, who has joined Corbin for a few other events since 2007. "As a kid from Michigan, I met him in a restaurant with some friends. I don't think I said anything. I just kind of had my head down."

He's hoping to hold his head high at the finish line Monday, though.

"You don't want to be the guy that Serge loses with, but that's not what I've been thinking about," said Corlew, who is Corbin's ninth Clinton partner. "I'm thinking about strategy and the river and making good moves. If you do that, you give yourself a good chance to win."

So, does Corbin really have a chance to win again after a six-year layoff, two hernia operations and the aches that simply come with age?

"I don't think Serge would come unless he thought he had a chance to win," said Bruce Barton of Homer, Mich., who will compete in the C-2 Pro Class with his 22-year-old daughter, Rebecca Barton. "I think the main thing in the pro class is we don't know who's going to win the race this year, which is nice for a change."

Barton, 54, is more than qualified to make such an assessment.

In addition to winning the Clinton's C-1 Pro title in 2000, Barton won the C-2 crown in 1990 _ the only year he teamed with Corbin _ in a record time of 6 hours, 34 minutes, 34 seconds.

Barton also has had Triebold as a Clinton partner as the two finished 15th in 2003, when Corbin won his fourth of six straight titles with Jeff Kolka. Triebold is part of Barton's family tree, too. Barton's wife of 32 years, Roxanne, is the sister of Tim Triebold, who is Andy's dad.

"Andy and Steve have been the two best guys now for a long time," Barton said. "If they're on, they're hard to beat. ... If they're at their best, I don't think they can be beat."

Said Corlew: "They're the reigning champs, so they're the team to beat. What I know about them is they're fast and they can grind a long time. They don't have many weaknesses, they're strong and they train together. They're getting better and better each year."

Triebold's best winning time at the Clinton came last May, when he and Lajoie finished in 7:09:22 _ 6:34 ahead of runner-up Josh Sheldon and Steve Kolonich.

"It will be a tough team to beat," Corbin said of Triebold and Lajoie, who will be in the P16 canoe. "They've won it the last couple of years, but they have a lot of pressure right now. To always win is difficult. I was lucky all those years to win it every time I did it."

And if Corbin should lose?

"I would say I'm too old now," he said with a laugh. "We'll do our best and we'll have fun."

Corlew said he and Corbin have been stationed at a camp on Goodyear Lake since Monday and used this past week to cover every part of the 70-mile stretch.

"We've done every single bit of it," he said of the Susquehanna, adding the river is a bit higher than usual. "We're confident that way. We're anxious to get on it and go."

Sheldon will team with fellow Grayling, Mich., resident Ryan Halstead in the P22 canoe this season as Kolonich did not return. Halstead placed fourth in 7:16:40 last year with Rod Halstead, who did not enter this year.

East Rochester's Matt Rudnitsky also changed partners, joining Shane MacDowell of Portland, Maine this Memorial Day. Rudnitsky finished third with Nick Walton last year, in 7:15:57.

"It shouldn't be a runaway race for anybody," 10th-year regatta committee member Rodney Robinson said. "They all should be in a pack, and with the rain we had last week, the water's still nice."

Clinton events started Friday with Generation Gap races, which will be followed by Scout and Youth races Saturday. Robinson said children enter the same day for Saturday's races, which begin at 2 p.m. at the Sidney Fishing Access.

Saturday's schedule will be highlighted by the Clinton's inaugural Hall of Fame Dinner and Induction Ceremony, which starts at 4 p.m. and follows a canoe parade down the Susquehanna that ends at General Clinton Park in Bainbridge.

Corbin will be inducted with older brother Claude Corbin, Luc Robillard of Vermont, Peter Heed of New Hampshire, and locals Ted LaMonica of Oneonta, Bob Zaveral of Mount Upton and Jan Povlock of Unadilla. Serge Corbin said Claude will not attend the ceremony, but the rest of the Clinton's pioneer paddlers are expected to take part.

Heed will compete in the 53-canoe C-2 Pro on Monday with Michael Fairchild of Battleboro, Vt.

LaMonica also will race Monday _ joining Maryland's Timothy Ashe in the Open Stock Aluminum Endurance event _ as the Clinton's all-time mileage leader looks to make it 41 finishes for 2,870 miles.

The Clinton's first Hall of Fame class also includes a five-person "Pit Crew" that will be recognized for contributions to the regatta. Bainbridge residents Cliff Wade, Lew Whitney and Wayne King will join former Sidney resident Ed Roelle on the "Pit Crew." Roelle lives in Colorado.

Clinton founder Charlie Hinkley, also a "Pit Crew" member, will be inducted posthumously.

Sunday's schedule features the Grand Prix Relay at 9 a.m., the 12-mile sprints at noon, and the Willis Hackett C-1-18, which also is at noon.

The weekend races set up the 70-miler Monday, when a 30-percent chance of rain and temperatures in the low 80s are in the forecast, according to the website weather.com.

Dean Russin can be reached at drussin@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 215.