The ICF Sprint Canoe World Cup makes its long awaited return to Belgrade, Serbia, this weekend, with a field including Olympic gold medallists Liam Heath, Marcus Walz, Sebastian Brendel, Max Hoff and Ken Wallace, along with several World Champions.
The picturesque Ada Ciganlija Regatta Course is located in the heart of Belgrade, a cultural, sports and entertainment hub which attracts thousands of people in the warmer months.
The course will host the European Canoe Sprint Junior and U23 European Championships at the end of June.
Nearly 60 countries and close to 500 athletes are expected to attend the three-day World Cup this weekend, including many of the exciting new crews which have already caught attention during the opening two World Cups of the season.
Great Britain’s Liam Heath and France’s Maxime Beaumont, first and second in the K1 200 in Rio and again last weekend in Szeged, will continue their rivalry, while Spain’s Walz and the Czech Republic’s Josef Dostal, K1 1000 Olympic gold and silver medallists, will also once again go head-to-head.
The German men’s K4 that won gold in Rio has been re-worked for this season, but looked strong in winning the expected new Olympic race of K4 500 last weekend. Their combination for Belgrade will be watched closely.
Germany’s Olympic silver medallists, Tina Dietze and Franziska Weber, had their colours lowered by New Zealand in the K2 500 in Szeged, but in the absence of the team from Oceania will look to get back to the top of the podium this weekend.
Among the gold medallists from Szeged competing this weekend, Spain’s Francisco Cubelos and Inigo Pena (K2 1000), Lithuania’s Henrikas Zustautas (C1 200), Czech Martin Fuksa (C1 1000), Canada’s Laurence Vincent-Lapointe (C1 200) and Hungary’s Virag Balla and Kincso Takacs (C2 500).
Sprint canoe legends Max Hoff (Germany), Rene Poulsen (Denmark), Sebastian Brendel (Germany) and Ken Wallace (Australia) will add further class to the competition.
Belarus, one of the world powerhouses of sprint canoe, will be in Belgrade in force after missing the opening two World Cups.
A small but talented field of Paracanoe athletes, include Austria’s multiple world champion, Marcus Swoboda, will also race on the weekend.
The ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup 3 begins on Friday and continues over the weekend.
Pic by Balint Vekassy
