Titouan Castryck and Anatole Delassus are poised to resume their captivating duel as the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup Series moves to Tacen, Slovenia.
The Tacen Whitewater Centre, located in the suburbs of Slovenian capital Ljubljana, will stage the penultimate leg of the five-stage series from Friday to Sunday.
A total of 184 from 32 nations have made the trip to Tacen seeking to earn vital points in their quests for the overall titles ahead of next week’s ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup Final in Augsburg, Germany.
Click here for startlists and live results from Tacen
One of the most intriguing battles comes in the men’s kayak where Olympic silver medallist Castryck and reigning World Cup Series champion Delassus have been going to head-to-head.
A single point separates the French pair in the overall standings with Castryck currently holding the slender lead over Delassus.
Castryck has won two out of three World Cups, while Delassus is still waiting for his first victory after three successive silver medals.
“It’s been a while since we raced last time so I’m happy to get back with the team and hopefully I can have a nice race here,” said Castryck.
“I raced my first international event here, so I have got some good memories, and I hope to go well again.
“Myself and Anatole have been away from racing for almost two months so maybe another guy has made some good progress this summer. I hope we will still be on top so we will see.
“We haven’t trained too much together this summer because he was in Pau and I was in Paris and we only had 10 days together, but I think we still did some good work, and we hope it will go well again.”
Castryck and Delassus are part of a strong French team that are impressing on all fronts this year.
In canoe, Olympic champion Nicolas Gestin topped an all-French podium in Prague and the men in blue are expected to challenge again, with Yohann Senechault and Mewen Debliquy also in fine form.
Ziga Lin Hocevar will arrive at his home course high on confidence after winning two gold medals at the U23 World Championships in Foix last month.
The 18-year-old has yet to pick up a World Cup medal this year but looked back to his very best in Foix as he aims to deliver home success.
His sister Eva Alina Hocevar will also be eager to maintain her form and achieve in front of the Slovenian fans after winning the U23 world title in K1 in Foix.
There will be no Australian superstar Jessica Fox in the field after she revealed that she underwent kidney surgery last week.
Fox said the operation went well but will miss the final two World Cups in Tacen and Augsburg.
Hocevar, Evy Leibfarth of the United States and Slovakia’s Zuzana Pankova will be among those looking to seize their opportunity.
Pankova sent her best wishes to Fox in her recovery and hopes to see her back in action soon.
“Jess is the toughest woman in the world,” said Pankova.
“She handles everything with a smile, so I hope for a fast recovery for her. She will definitely be missed here.”
Pankova arrives in Tacen after claiming her first World Cup win in Prague.
“This season has been nothing but extraordinary for me,” said the 20-year-old.
“Tacen has quite unpredictable water, but I like it here so it’s going to be fun.”
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