Sportscene | John Gregory | @gregiej – In a GB Team poster Barcelona ‘92 Tales from the Riverbank, Richard Fox was quoted as saying, “The race could be down to 105, that’s going to be very quick”. At this weekend’s Seu World Cup race all four current Olympic classes were less than 101 seconds.

Here is a short review of some key highlights from World Cup 4 in Seu as well as what to expect at the final in Pau.

Current World Cup 2015 series standings

Seu race review & analytics

In C1M, Beijing Olympic silver medallist and 2013 World Champion David Florence (GBR) started strong with a win in the heat. Another former World Champion, Denis Gargaud Chanut (FRA) put in the fastest clear C1M to win in 92.08 seconds ahead of Matej Benus (SVK) and also improving on the fastest semi-final run time from Alexander Slafkovsky (SVK).

In C1W, U23 World Champion Nuria Vilarrubla (ESP) was expected to be strong on her home course and she laid down solid runs in the heat and semi-final. World No. 1 Jess Fox (AUS) was able to go that little quicker in the final and win by more than 7 seconds including a touch. “It was a tough race in C1 after my touch on gate 1. I had to make sure I was on line in all the key moves and attack it. I'm happy with the way I paddled and improving in the final” described Fox.

In K1M, Boris Neveu (FRA) who is currently World, European, ICF World No. 1 stepped up from 2014 silver to gold in 2015 with his win.

Samuel Hernanz (ESP) has now been on the podium three years in a row. “I’m very happy to win a silver medal at home! My family and my friends were with me this weekend. I won last year while Boris was second; this year is the opposite! We are good friends since we started paddling and sharing the podium with him is nice! We did a good job with my coaches Xabi Etxaniz (technical coach) and Stephane Perilhou (my personal coach and osteopath). It’s good for the self-confidence for the next races. It was a good World Cup, we will just hope a little bit more water next year!

Ben Hayward (CAN) had a great semi to make the cut only to be disqualified in the final for allegedly letting go of his paddle with one arm to break the finish beam. You can watch the video and decide for yourself.

In K1W, 2014 World Cup series champion Corinna Kuhnle (AUT) pulled out a stella fast and clean run, going over 2 seconds quicker than local Maialen Chourraut’s semi-final. Kuhnle commented, “For the first time this year I was healthy for some weeks, without flu or something else. So I was training great in the past weeks and came in great shape to Spain! In the final everything went right, easy, for me, it was a really good run and I am more than happy about my first World Cup win! My great goal this season is for sure London, I want to make the Rio-qualification there!”

European Champion, Maialen Chourraut (ESP) again on the podium has edged up to joint second with Jasmin Schornberg (GER) in the World Cup series and just ten points behind Jana Dukatova (SVK)

Jess Fox (AUS) now ICF World No.1 also in K1W described her run, “I had a clean weekend... 5th is my best result in Seu but I'm not fully satisfied! My run was a bit shaky and there were a few places I lost time, and seeing I'm 4 seconds off the winning pace there's still work to be done! I’m looking forward to racing in Pau where I haven't raced since the Pyrenees cup 2 years ago.”

In C2, David Florence & Richard Hounslow (GBR) showed some of their former World Champion form with the fastest semi-final run. Just before them, World Number 1 crew, Gauthier Klauss & Matthieu Peche (FRA) took the lead in the final. Florence & Hounslow looked set for a win with the fastest 1st and 2nd split times before dropping a second on the bottom to come in 3rd behind the two French crews of Klauss/Peche and Laberelle/Peshier. It was a very tight final with 1-3rd split by only 0.67 seconds.

Richard Hounslow afterwards shared their reflections. "We had a frustrating start to the World Cup series, so it felt good to find the form we showed earlier in the season at the Euros. Obviously we would have loved to have won gold, but it was a good performance and shows we are heading in the right direction in the lead up to our home World champs in London."

It means Klauss/Peche are clear leaders in this 2015 World Cup series going into their home World Cup race.

Race percentages

Medal table from individual races after 4 World Cup races

As a result of the Seu World Cup race France elevated themselves to 2nd, Australia up to 4th and Austria to 7th. The Czech Republic team maintain their overall lead of the series medal table. Jess Fox added that “The French will be very good here [in Pau] obviously but I also expect the Spanish to be too as they have trained and raced here a lot.”

Pau World Cup final preview
With 10 points or less separating the first three places after 4 races in C1M and K1W, it will be a tough climax to the World Cup series on the Stadium Whitewater Pau-Pyrenees course. It “should be an exciting race as it will be the decider for the World Cup standings”, says Jess Fox. It would appear Fox almost already has the C1W class in the bag assuming she makes the C1W final. It would seem unlikely that would not be the case. However, there are double points awarded for this final race. Pau is on the World Cup calendar for 2016 ahead of the 2017 Worlds.

Pau Race Format

• Friday Aug 14 C1M, C1W, K1M heats
• Saturday Aug 15 C1M, C1W & K1M semi-final & final followed by K1W and C2 heats
• Sunday Aug 16 K1W & C2 semi-final & final

Remaining season

• ECA Junior / U23 European Championships – Krakow, Poland, August 26-30
• Senior World Championships – Lee Valley, UK, September 16-20

I will be providing live race tweets through the World Cup series and World Championships using #ICFslalom all season. Follow me @gregiej.

Photo credits: Ettore Ivaldi, Denis Gargaud, Balint Vekassy, Agustí Cucurulls, Lua Cousillas