Reigning world champion and Olympic silver medalist Andrea Herzog and former U23 silver medalist Lucas Roisin were the fastest C1 qualifiers on a tough canoe slalom course on the second morning of the International Canoe Federation World Cup in Augsburg on Friday.

Germany’s Herzog was one of the few paddlers to look confident on Augsburg’s Ice Channel, but also picked up a two-second penalty for a gate touch on her way to a time of 105.74, four seconds faster than Australia’s Jessica Fox with Czech Martina Satkova third fastest.

No athlete in the women’s C1 was able to complete the course penalty-free.

“I’m really happy, because the last runs I did here for the national qualifications were not that satisfying for me, so I’m happy to have made a good run, not clean, but pretty good,” Herzog said.

“It’s a great feeling (to be back in Augsburg) because the memories from the world championships are still in my mind, so I just want to have fun at this world cup. The only thing that matters this year are the world championships in London.”

26-year-old Roisin has not contested a senior ICF world cup since 2019, but made a big first impression on the first international run of the season by posting the fastest qualifying time in the men’s C1.

Roisin was one of only a handful of athletes to have an error-free run, finishing with a time of 95.47, almost a full second faster than Great Britain’s Adam Burgess.

Italy’s Raffaello Ivaldi was third quickest.

“It was not easy, there were many tricky parts,” Ivaldi said.

“You never know when you are starting a new season, it’s always new. I think I worked pretty well during the whole winter and I was ready, but you never know.”

The semi-finals and finals of the men’s and women’s C1 will be held on Saturday.

Pics by Dezso Vekassy