Sportscene | John Gregory | @gregiej | Photos: Sebastian Krok – Ultra fast but rarely clean. The Krakow World Cup race was short with tight spins in every class and no margin for penalties, of which there were many. Here is a short round-up of some key highlights from World Cup 2 as well as a preview of World Cup 3 in Liptovsky Mikulas which gets underway immediately this week.

Krakow World Cup 2 review
It is unusual to see spins in every class. Performed at their best they can be exceptional fast and looked beautifully choreographed. They do come with higher risk, evident by the higher number of touches and 50-second penalties.

The Polish team were unable to turn their home water advantage into a medal despite placing boats in the respective K1M, K1W and C2 finals.

In C1M, the heats started strong with David Florence (GBR) fastest and clear in heat 1 followed by Prague winner, Stanislav Jezek (CZE) and eventual race winner Matej Benus (SVK).  Benus was also the fastest on the semi-final and final course. In the semi-final Casey Eichfeld (USA) put in one of his best runs to date 2nd just 0.09 seconds behind Franz Anton (GER) and 0.72 seconds ahead of Jezek, who incurred a 2 second penalty.

In C1W, it was great to see Noemi Fox out-qualify her big sister with 2nd in the semi-final. In the final Noemi crossed the line in 5th place and looked positively disappointed. This is her first world cup season and first World Cup final. She finished 6th. Jess Fox finished with 3 touches and -1.36 in the heat and -3.19 in the final. “A good start but there’s still 3 more races and a lot can change. I'm happy with the start to my C1 campaign with solid performances in Prague and Krakow. It was a tough weekend in Krakow, but it was cool to share it with my little sister and see her paddle really well in her first world cup and make the final”, described Jess Fox.

The sprint to the finish was difficult and it was disappointment for Lucie Baude (FRA) in the final who was judged to have been upside down at exactly the time she crossed the line.

In K1M, we predicted the German men absent in the Prague final would be back with a vengeance and 2013 & 2014 World Cup winner Sebastien Schubert (GER) won the heat in 73.53 clear. The first 7 K1M were separated by less than 1 second.

Mateusz Polacyk (POL) beat out his team-mate Maciej Okreglak by a mere 0.01 seconds. Okreglak looked ecstatic as he crossed the line in the semi-final.  Vavra Hradilek (CZE) is so exceptional to watch. “I like the technical course and spins are sometimes faster. I had to train them more in the last weeks, as I was not really good at them. I always wanted to choose a direct way of making the stagger but turns out [spin] is faster and safer which is most important in the run. I have enjoyed paddling since the season started and finally get the results as well so I am stoked even more”, he said.

Joe Clarke was again strong and showing increasing consistency, third in the semi and fourth in the final. He will be one to watch at Lee Valley in September and for Olympic selection. He is now 5th in the 2015 World Cup standings.

In K1W both Spanish ladies Martha Martinez and Maialen Chourraut were very smooth on the top section of the final. Maialen had won heat 1 with 78.83 clear and maintained the precision and control to produce a great clear run of 90.93 seconds. Katerina Kudejova had set the fastest sub 90 second run in the semi-final.

Corinna Kuhnle (AUT) took the long way to the semi-finals having to race in heat 1 and 2. She finished second in heat 2 before securing silver in the eventual final. There were many upsets of the course with Jess Fox and Emilie Fer incurring 50-second penalties and failing to make the final.

In C2 the semi-final result looked like qualifying in the Formula1 grid with three teams taking the top 7 positions (CZE-CZE-CZE-POL-GER-GER-GER). It was an almost unheard of scenario to see no Slovakian in the Krakow semi or final.

The Polish C2 crew Brzezinski & Brzezinski were quick in heat 1 of their home race up 1.94 sec and 2.17 sec on eventual winners Kaspar/ Sindler (CZE) and Prague winners Klauss/ Peche (FRA). Behling & Becker (GER) also took the long way to the semi-final winning heat 2 and produced an impressive clear run in the final to take the early lead. However Czechs Jonas Kaspar and Mark Sindler put in a fabulous composed run to take the win by 1.83 seconds.

Race percentages

Medals were spread across 10 nations with the Czech Republic again topping the medal table. There were no team races.

Medal table based on individual classes and teams

You can download all results here: www.sportscene.tv/whitewater/canoe-slalom/result-archive

Liptovsky World Cup 3 preview

The paddlers packed up immediately in Krakow and were on the road to the small town of Liptovsky Mikulas in the Tatras mountain range. The race takes place on the left hand channel of the Areal slalom course fed by the Vah river. The last key race in Liptovsky was the Junior/U23 Worlds in 2013. Many athletes will also be familiarising themselves with Liptovsky, which hosts the 2016 European Canoe Slalom Championships.

Going into Liptovsky race here are the current World Cup ranking in each class.

In C1M, clear favourites for the final are the ultra-strong Slovakian team comprising last week’s winner Matej Benus, 2015 World Cup Champion and C1 legend Michal Martikan and 2012 World Cup winner Alexander Slafkovsky. It will be hard fought with the likes of David Florence (GBR), Stanislav Jezek (CZE), 2015 European Champion Benjamin Savsek (SLO) or London silver medallist Sideris Tasiadis (GER). These only cover half the class capable of securing a place in the top 10 final on Saturday morning.

In C1W, Jess Fox (AUS) is on a roll and while she still often maintains a clear winning margin she is not infallible and Kimberley Woods (GBR), Mallory Franklin (GBR), Katerina Hoskova (CZE) and Nuria Vilarrubla (ESP) have all had recent wins. Deep Creek Worlds silver medallist Mallory Franklin will be looking for a World Cup podium and the Slovakian team could create an upset.

K1M, the Czechs are showing great form. It is great to have Vavra Hradilek (CZE) on top form and Jiri Prskavec is ranked ICF No. 4 and is U23 World Champion. There will be no Sebastian Schubert (GER) racing in Liptovsky, however 2008 Olympic Champion Alexander Grimm (GER) or 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Hannes Aigner (GER) are capable of a win. While Peter Kauzer (SLO) has demonstrated less consistency of late. All, however have strength and experience to pull out a race win.

K1W, Maialan Chourraut (ESP) and Ricarda Funk (GER) show remarkable consistency. Ursa Kragelj (SLO) has made the finals in both Prague & Krakow, joined by Eva Tercelj (SLO) in Krakow. The German, French and British teams are all very strong, not discounting World Champion Jess Fox (AUS).

In C2, expect the tight competition between the Slovakian crews on their home course. Which of the Slovak boats will make the final, with the Skantars and Hochschorners racing again? The Czechs have also been ultra impressive so far this season. We have not yet seen 2014 World Champions Luka Bozic & Saso Taljat (SLO) racing to the level they did in Deep Creek and through last year’s World Cup series.

Liptovsky Race Schedule:

• Friday July 3 - Heats C1M, C1W, K1M, K1W & C2M
• Saturday July 4 – Semi-final & final C1M, C1W, K1M plus team race
• Sunday July 5 – Semi-final & final K1W & C2M plus teams

Remaining Race season:

• Pan American Games – Minden, Ontario, Canada July 17-19
• World Cup 4 – Seu d’Urgell, Spain August 7-9
• World Cup Final – Pau, France August 14-16
• Senior World Championships – Lee Valley, London, UK September 16-20

Here is the link to the Liptovsky World Cup page. I will be providing live race tweets through the World Cup races using #ICFslalom all season. Follow me @gregiej.

Photo credits: Sebastian Krok