The European wildwater championships take place in Saber, Spain (11-14.08). After a two-year absence of the international championship, there are again races for the titles of European champions. The Esla River examines top competitors from fifteen European countries.
"The course of the long race measures six kilometers and ends with a part where the sprint will take place. Although the river doesnot hide any difficult passages, I cannot say that it is a descent on flat water. The long distance course is really long. Only the kayakers were able to get under eighteen minutes. Course for the sprint is great. It is not technically demanding, but it offers a lot of options. It is interesting to observe different competitors and differently chosen tracks," comments the youngest member of the Czech kayak trio, Vojtěch Matějíček.
The four-day program of the European wildwater championships was opened by long distance race on Wednesday. On Thursday, the race was again on the long distance, this time in a team race.
The Italian competitor Mathilde Rosa became the new European champion. The kayaker, who prefers the SICARIO LIGHT, won on the long course by an incredible thirteen seconds. “The river is beautiful. It flows through nature between the mountains and the water is really really icy. There are no huge waves, but racing here is challenging. I am satisfied with my result. Seeing the competition after such a long time kicked me to give a good result," says Mathilde Rosa.
The second place was taken by the Frenchwoman Lisa Vinet. (SICARIO LIGHT) and the bronze medal was won by the German Sophia Schmidt. "It was a long and difficult race, but it is good for me. It is my first medal from the European Championships in long distance, so I am extremely satisfied," comments Lise Vinet.
Maxence Barouh became the sovereign winner in kayakers. He dreamed of this title for so long and fought for it until his diligence returned to him. The kayaker from France confirmed his role as the favorite and finished for his greatest success in life.
"It's still unbelievable to me that I became the European champion in a long race. Physically, it was very hard and I really put everything into the race. The result only confirms the difficult preparations I made before the championship," comments the current European champion Maxence Barouh. Until a few weeks before the race, he did not know which boat he would choose for this race. The choice of the WAKATWO model brought him a new life experience “I am happy that I decided to make this change. A month ago, I changed my Sicario for a Wakatwo. I think Wakatwo is built for a type of river like this. You don't have to kicking the waves and you can focus only on your ride. And that's exactly what I did today," adds Maxence.
German racer Finn Harstein finished for the title of European vice-champion. The French colors swept across the stage once more. This time thanks to Paul Jean, who won bronze.
The dominance among C1-womens was confirmed by the Italian Cecilia Panato. (HAWK) For the first time in her life, she won the title of European Champion in the senior category. Czech competitor Marie Němcová finished second and Frenchwoman Helene Raguenes took third place. (LIMAX)
"I am the only single competitor here from the Italian team. I really wanted to put everything into the long descent, and I succeeded. I will race in two disciplines on the sprint course. First on a K1 and then on C1. I hope that the well-started championship will continue in this successful way," comments Cecilia Panato.
Women from France won the team race. The men on C1 were dominated by a team from Germany. The role of favorites among kayakers was not confirmed by the French competitors, who were not enough for the winning German team. C2 men's category closed the long-distance races. Six competitors from France won the title in this category.
The program of the European Championship continues tomorrow's sprint qualifiers.