Matt Rimer and Andy Triebold, winners of the General Clinton Canoe Regatta the past two years, have ended their union and will compete in separate canoes during the 46th running of the 70-mile Memorial Day race down the Susquehanna River.
"Andy just lined up with someone else this year," said Rimer, who added the move by Triebold came as a complete surprise. "We haven't paddled together since."
The Michigan duo finished the 2007 race from Cooperstown to Bainbridge in 7 hours, 24 minutes, 59 seconds, beating second-place Guy and Jean Rousseau by almost seven minutes in the C-2 Pro Class.
Rimer and Triebold won their first title in 2006, which marked the first of two straight absences for 28-time champion Serge Corbin. That year, the two crossed in 7:35:13 to beat runners-up Steve Lajoie and Mo Harwood by 11:03.
Reached by cell phone Wednesday morning, Rimer said he was stunned by Triebold's decision to partner with Lajoie this year.
"I got married Sept. 29 up here in Grayling (Mich.) and he was in the wedding," Rimer said of Triebold, who took part in the ceremony as a groomsman. "I hadn't talked to him for a few months after that ... but then I called him and called him and finally left a message that said I need to know what's going on. He called me back and said he's doing it with Steve."
Rimer, 24, said there was no rift that led to the split.
"I have no idea," said Rimer, who will paddle with fellow Michigan resident Bill Torongo. Rimer also said he will team with his new Clinton partner for the 61st AuSable River Canoe Regatta, which runs July 26-27 in Michigan. "Andy had raced with Steve in the past, before he and I started racing together. So, I don't know; maybe he just wanted to race with Steve again."
Triebold, 31, did not return a phone message left by The Daily Star on Wednesday night.
"We were all surprised," race committee chairperson Lori Roseboom said of the breakup. "You figure they'd come back because they have two wins under their belts, but now, who knows who's going to win?"
Neither Lajoie nor Torongo competed in the Clinton last year. Torongo and Clark Kent completed the 2006 C-2 race in 8:16:05, finishing 24 spots behind Lajoie and Harwood.
So far, two of the top 10 C-2 teams in 2007 have confirmed they will return intact for the 2008 race: Pennsylvanians Jeff Rankinen and Todd Roadman, and Massachusetts residents Steve Drew and Thomas Ellsworth. The duos finished fourth (7:38:00) and ninth (7:44:00), respectively.
The Rousseaus also have parted company, with Guy joining Alain Poirer of Quebec this year. Jean Rousseau does not appear on the entry list, which is current as of Wednesday.
"Sometimes when you spend two or three years with somebody, you go on and try it with somebody else," said Roseboom, who will compete in an amateur women's race this year after winning the mixed C-2 pro race with her brother, Al Shaver Jr., last May (17th overall, 7:46:22). "Sometimes there are issues with transportation or you may have some differences in opinion. It could be a lot of things. It's hard to say."
Roseboom said she will not compete in the pro race because she has not spent enough practice time on the river this year.
Poirer and Rodrigue Forand finished 13th last year (7:44:38).
As of Wednesday, no entries have been posted for Rod and Ryan Halstead (third in 2007, 7:35:11); Brad Gross and Tony Short (sixth, 7:39:07); Josh Taylor and Matt Meersman (seventh, 7:43:09); or Dave Jensen and Tad Hill (eighth, 7:43:40).
The fifth- and 10th-place teams from 2007 also have changed. Gilbertsville's Matt Rudnitsky, fifth in 7:38:03 with his uncle Andy Rudnitsky last year, has teamed with Marc Gillespie of Rochester. Sidney's Ed Curley, 10th in 7:44:09 with Dale Persons last May, will join Allen Limberg of Wisconsin this year.
Andy Rudnitsky will paddle with Shaver. Persons has not entered the Clinton to date.
"It's going to be very interesting," regatta chairperson Pam LeFever said. "There are some good teams in there."
LeFever also said Corbin is suffering from a hernia and will not return this year. The Daily Star failed to connect to the home phone of Canadian Corbin, who did not return a message left on his work phone Wednesday morning.
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Dean Russin can be reached at drussin@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 215.
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