ICF Wildwater Canoeing World Championships

10/06/2010

With its opening ceremony on the evening of Monday 7th June, the 27th edition of the ICF's Wildwater Canoeing World Championships was underway. The town of Sort is no stranger to organising high-level international competitions; events of this calibre have been hosted here for more than 50 years. The breathtaking surroundings of the River La Noguera Pallaresa make this an obvious setting for whitewater activity.

Something for everyone
The River, which crosses through the middle of the town, is 146 km long; 40k of which are navigable and it has something for everyone with sections at the easiest level (I), which are ideal for younger paddlers and beginners, to the most difficult level (a V on a rating scale of VI). For the 2010 ICF Wildwater Canoeing World Championships, each section was carefully selected, for each race of the competition. They all meet ICF requirements and each selected section cover all categories: Classic, Sprint and Team Racing.

Level III course
The Classic course at Moleta Rialp runs parallel to a major road from which the river is visible. There are several checkpoints along the route for paddlers, as well as for the media, team leaders, spectators, employees, organisation and security. At 6,800m this is a Level III course, and combines rapids with calmer areas where paddlers are able to re-accelerate before facing another section of rapids.

Sebastian Verhoef (NED)
Czech ladies battled it out
Tuesday 8th June was the first day of racing. The first event was the Men's K1 and the Men's and Women's C1 Classic Race. In the C1, Croatia and Slovenia made the race a Balkan affair. In first place was Emil Milihram (CRO) while his team mate, Tomislav Lepan (CRO) came second. Third place went to Jost Zakrajsek of Slovenia, winner of the 2009 Wildwater Canoeing World Cup. The Men's K1 went to France's Loic Vynisale who finished in fourth place in last year's World Cup. Germany's Achim Overbeck and Slovenia's Nejc Znidarcic were placed second and third respectively. In the Women's C1, two Czech ladies battled it out; Radka Valikova crossed the line first with Tereza Lernerova in second place.

Homepage: sort2010.org

Source: canoeicf.com

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