France’s Maxime Beaumont is set to start K1 favourite when the inaugural Canoe Sprint Super Cup kicks off in Barnaul, Russia, on Friday, following an impressive hit out in China this week.
Canada’s Laurence Vincent-Lapointe will be red-hot favourite in the women’s C1, but the men’s C1 and women’s K1 races appear wide open.
Many of the world’s best canoe sprint paddlers will compete in the unique 350 metre event in Barnaul, which will feature record prizemoney and live television coverage.
Several of the athletes competed in a Pre-Super Cup in Linyi, China, on Tuesday, racing over 600 metres. Portugal’s Fernando Pimenta (K1), New Zealand’s Caitlin Ryan (K1), Czech Martin Fuksa (C1) and Vincent-Lapointe all took victories.
But with the race distance almost halved this weekend, sprint athletes are expected to come to the fore.
Beaumont, the reigning Olympic K1 200 silver medallist, finished second behind Pimenta in China and will be one athlete who will appreciate the shorter course.
Pimenta has been unbeatable over 1000 and 5000 metres this year, but will be in unfamiliar territory in Barnaul. Germany’s Tom Liebscher was 2017 K1 1000 world champion, while Spain’s Roi Rodriguez is a K1 500 world champion.
Ryan took solid 500 metre form into Linyi, and backed it up with a powerful win on Tuesday. But she will come up against several highly regarded 200 metre paddlers in Russia, including Poland’s Marta Walczykiewicz, the 2016 K1 200 Olympic silver medallist.
Fuksa will start favourite in the men’s C1 after a polished performance over 600 metres in Linyi. He is a proven paddler over 500 and 1000 metres, but will need to be at his best to keep up with Belarus’s three-time C1 200 world champion, Artsem Kozyr.
Vincent-Lapointe is the closest you can get to a certainty in the women’s C1. Already unbeatable over 200 metres, she showed extra distance is no problem by coasting to a win over the 600 on Tuesday.
Dropping back to 350 metres is unlikely to pose any great challenge to the Canadian, a six-time C1 200 world champion.
The ICF Canoe Sprint Super Cup begins in Barnaul, Russia, on Friday.