The closing day of the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup Series delivered high-intensity action in kayak cross, with athletes battling for final glory in a dramatic finish to the weekend.
Hometown hero Ziga Lin Hocevar secured his second gold medal of the event with victory in the men’s kayak cross, while Switzerland’s Alena Marx upgraded her earlier bronze in the women’s canoe to claim the top step of the podium in the women’s kayak cross.
France’s Camille Prigent and Great Britain’s Sam Leaver also produced standout gold-medal performances in the respective women’s and men’s kayak cross individual, though neither was able to replicate their winning runs later in the day.
Here’s what the medallists had to say after a thrilling Sunday of racing.
Click here for live startlists and results from Tacen
Women’s Kayak Cross
Alena Marx (Switzerland - gold)
“I’m really happy with my race. I had a tough time trial, which didn’t go so well, but I was just happy to get through to another round, and now I want to push on from there. It’s incredible to get the gold. I really liked the course - it was so hard in the heat, and when everyone is pushing it gets even tougher, but I felt like I got into the zone and it was really fun to race.”
Victoriia Us (Ukraine - silver)
“I’m so happy to have a medal and to race with such strong girls. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Angele Hug (France - bronze)
“I feel really great. As I said in the individual race, given the time period it was already a hard course for me, so I’m really happy. It was also really good to race with and against the girls, so we’re really happy to have done it like that. The weather made the course much tougher, it was very windy on the water., but I’m very happy with the outcome.”
Men’s Kayak Cross
Ziga Lin Hocevar (Slovenia - gold)
“I’m very happy. It’s been a hard day, but it came out perfectly. I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time - there’s no feeling like winning a cross race, and winning it at home on the biggest stage is just unbelievable. It’s hard to express. I felt confident going into the race, I was always confident. My mum said if you’re not confident, you can just go home and sleep. I’m not scared of anybody. I believed in myself as much as I could, and I think that’s one of the biggest parts of success.”
Joris Hello (France - silver)
“I’m very happy with my medal, I am feeling very good. It was hard to navigate but it was a good fight, and I’m very happy.”
Joseph Clarke (Great Britain - bronze)
“I’m good. I mean, it’s the first World Cup of the season, so it’s always nice to kick it off with a podium. There was a lot of fighting out there with the guys, and to come through it and get a medal is fantastic. We’ve had success here before, so to come back and get back on the podium makes it even more special.”
Women’s Kayak Cross Individual
Camille Prigent (France - gold)
“I’m really happy. I had a super good run. The water is changing quite a lot here, so you always have to adapt. And even if we know the course after many years, it’s always challenging. So it feels really good when it goes with the water the whole way down. It will give me confidence for the races for the rest of the day. It’s really a different kind of game this afternoon, so I will have a good advantage to pick my spot on the ramp. But apart from that, it’s a new race and I will have to start from zero again.”
Angele Hug (France - silver)
“I’m really happy to do that with Camile [Prigent] again. It was the same in Australia, you know, and this course for us was really, really powerful. And yes, what we did right, it’s really hard to rate. It’s very nice to produce a good run, and it was a fun race. I have more confidence now but you know, we never know. Even if you start in a good place on the run, it’s never done before the race.”
Kimberley Woods (Great Britain - bronze)
“This is my first individual at a World Cup for kayak cross, and I don’t know, I was really surprised when I came through the finish. I had a lot of mistakes in it from gate 6 onwards, but it felt like I got a good enough start. I just tried to stay in it. It was like, it doesn’t really matter if I hang on a medal, it’s just about getting through. It does give me confidence heading into the rest of the day. It gives me, I guess, lane choice on a couple of rounds and I’m not off the first round, which is almost like not having the benefit of actually winning. I feel a little bit better now that I’m back on the podium in kayak cross. It’s been a while so I’m looking forward to the rest of the day.”
Men’s Kayak Cross Individual
Sam Leaver (Great Britain - gold)
“I’m really pleased with the gold. I didn’t have a nice training last night, so I came down this morning as well and things went a bit better. I just had one of those good runs, I felt really in the flow, and I’m happy with the result. I won the kayak cross overall last year, but I never won an individual event. I’ve got three medals, but never a gold, so this was really special to me, my first individual gold. Something I was working on was the ramp, and my ramp was really good in that run, and that’s going to be important for this afternoon. Hopefully I can stick through those rounds, and we’ll see what happens if I make it into a final.”
Mathurin Madore (France - silver)
“It’s always super hard in kayak cross to find the speed, but I managed to do it. I kept it together until the finish line, so I’m pretty happy with the performance I had this morning. Last year I won the head-to-head, but I had a really bad time trial, so I started like 20th or 25th. So even if I had a good time trial now, I’m staying humble about what’s going to happen this afternoon.”
Jakub Krejci (Czechia - bronze)
“This medal is very good for the afternoon programme, and you can choose a good start on the ramp. That will be very important for today. I am happy but anything can happen in kayak cross. Also, here in Tacen, the water is a little bit messier than on any other course. It could be tricky, but I hope that the start position is going to help me for the heats, then the semi-final, and hopefully the final.”
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