Valtellina expects best wildwater canoeing paddlers

Nina Jelenc | Sportscene - Although whitewater canoeing doesn’t get as much spotlight as it’s more known cousins – the Olympic disciplines of canoe slalom and sprint canoeing – canoeing fans still look forward to the most important competitions in this discipline. This year all eyes will be turned to Italy where ICF World Championships will take place.

Italy will host senior Wildwater Canoeing World Championships for the fifth time since first Championships was held in 1959. The last World Championships in Italy was organized back in 2008 in Ivrea about 200 kilometres to the west from this year’s venue. All top athletes are shaping their form with this competition in mind, since this is the year without senior European Championships. As in the previous years we can expect the most from the strongest Wildwater canoeing nations France, Germany, Czech Republic and Slovenia who have been sweeping the winner’s podium in the past years in men’s canoe and kayak events and women’s canoe and kayak events where especially France and Germany dominated the events. There are as always dangerous Swiss athletes as well as Italian paddlers who will do everything to keep medals at home.

Normen Weber, the reigning World Champion in Whitewater sprint canoeing from Solkan and reigning European Champion in classic race from Bovec (both championships were organized in Slovenia), is one of those athletes who have the highest goals for the peak of the season. “Last year I’ve won my first Word Champion title in C1, so it would be perfect if I could live up to this success. I will focus on the World Championships on the Adda River. Last year I’ve won twice on this river at the World cup race in sprint and classic,” Normen Weber (GER) said.

German canoeist hopes for the best, although his main focus this year is on his job: “This year I will focus mainly on my job. I am an officer in the army and I have to learn several things about the artillery. I’ll do my preparations for the 2014 in Germany, since I do not have time to train in warm weather conditions like other paddlers. In this period of training it is important for me to exercise my endurance. Therefore I am running, doing ergometer rowing or paddle in my boat. I’m paddling K1, C1 and C2 with my partner Rene Brücker.”

Besides French paddlers Simon Hočevar (SLO) will be one of the main opponents of the current World Champion Normen Weber. Experienced Slovenian veteran who will turn 40 at the end of this month will focus solely on downriver and will start only at few slalom races just for fun. “My first goal is World Championships in Valtellina, where I’ll be aiming for the top together with Blaž Cof in C2 both in classic and sprint,” said Hočevar who won medals at European and World Championships both in C1 and C2 last year. “At the world championships I’ll start in C2 and in C1 in sprint and team races, but for the classic race in C1 I will decide at the championships, when I will see the schedule,” added Hočevar, who already did part of his winter training in Slovenian biathlon centre on Pokljuka and in France, while in the next days he will join junior team in Pau.

Hočevar’s compatriot Nejc Žnidarčič, one of the best kayakers of the last years, also hopes to reach the top again. In 2013 he became European Champion in sprint and was second at World Championships in sprint where he had to congratulate Maxime Richard (BEL) who beat him at Žnidarčič’s home course. Slovenian athlete made a big change in his winter preparations. “I will spend my first winter training camp in Australia and actually the first training camp farther from Croatian coast. The training outside Europe is very expensive for us, because the boat transport is more expensive than the actual plane ticket, so we didn’t use this option before. Last year, after the World Champioships in Solkan, I made an arrangement with Australian team to come there for training. Australians will lend me a boat for downriver and surf ski, so we will train and compete in both disciplines,” said Nejc Žnidarčič who will try to reach the top again.

Right after the World Championships in Italy the season will continue with four World cup races which will all be organized in Austria. The Series will start in Unken, Lofer on June 19th with a classic race, on June 21st and 22nd sprint and classic races will continue in Saalach, Lofer, while the final will be held in Vienna Donauinsel on June 28th and 29th. The only European Championships of the year will be Junior Championships in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina in July.

2014 competition calendar: www.sportscene.tv/whitewater/downriver/calendar