La Plagne, Sunday 24 June 2012 - Water release in the morning was a very challenging 35m3 so everyone got the chance to test the sprint course with the same flow they will experience in the race. The result was dozens of paddlers queueing at the sprint in start order to test the venue as many times as possible. An efficient rescue service made with hydrospeeds safely rescued the very few boats that capsized. The average technical level of the course is in fact very high. Thanks to excellent weather conditions, a good show was guaranteed and WildWater TV Italia prepared a video (see above) with the best scenes of a great Sunday morning.

In the meantime, other nations continue to join the downriver circus here in La Plagne. Amongst them, Japan, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, and Morocco, represented by a dual Italian/Moroccan paddler who grew up in Città di Castello, near Perugia. In the video they are followed by 2004 world champion Carlo Mercati.

Sunday afternoon June 24

In the afternoon, the river flow was reduced to a normal 25m3, and athletes switched from the sprint race in the morning to the classic 5km long race training. The venue starts with an easy beginning, having only small waves and even some flatwater giving you a unique chance to listen to birds singing because you can forget about doing that later! The first rapid is "Machine a couper le jambon": a class IV rapid where the river narrows between two big rocks. Violent wildwater is experienced from here on, with "Les 400 metres", "Passerelle de Sangot" which marks the sprint race start (the sprint venue is fully included in the classic), then "Les Moutons", "Les Vignet" and, after the sprint race finish line, "La salle a manger" and "Le dessert", before reaching the place where the chrono stops and allows you to take a full breath. Please note that the names of the rapids will only be remembered for their sense of humour, not the rapids themselves!