It is hotting up in the race for glory in the International Canoe Federation Canoe Slalom World Cup Series. 

With just two legs of the season remaining, it is all to play for as paddlers tussle for the overall titles in each category. 

After World Cups in La Seu, Pau and Prague, attention now turns to Tacen in Slovenia for the penultimate stage. 

Let’s look at how things are shaping up in each of the categories ahead of this weekend’s fourth stop in the five-leg series in Tacen. 

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Men’s Kayak 

What a battle this is turning out to be. There is just one point separating French stars Titouan Castryck and Anatole Delassus and it looks set to go down to the wire. Castryck returned to the summit after his victory in Prague where he edged out Delassus. Castyck has now won two out of the three men’s K1 events this season, while Delassus is still awaiting his first win after three successive second-placed finishes. Fellow Frenchman Benjamin Renia completes the top three, while Poland’s Mateusz Polaczyk and Czechia’s Jakub Krejcic are also in the mix for the title and Austria’s Felix Oschmautz and Australia’s Lucien Delfour are the other paddlers in three figures. 

Women’s Kayak 

Germany’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Ricarda Funk continues to lead the way in this category. Funk backed up her triumph in Pau with a seventh-placed finish in Prague as she aims to retain the overall crown, but she is being closely followed by Evy Leibfarth of the United States. Leibfarth’s first-ever World Cup victory has put her within 16 points of Funk. Another World Cup bronze for Great Britain’s Lois Leaver saw her climb into the top three as Australia’s Kate Eckhardt slipped from second to fourth. France’s Camille Prigent bounced back from her disappointing display in Pau to seal her second women’s K1 silver of the season to move into the top five. Slovakia’s Sona Stanovska, Slovenia’s Eva Alina Hocevar and Great Britain’s Kimberley Woods are also in with a shout. 

Men’s Canoe 

A French clean sweep of the C1 medals in Prague underlines their strength in this event. Nicolas Gestin, the Olympic champion, topped the podium that day as he climbed to seventh position in the overall leaderboard, but it is Yohann Senechault who holds top spot. Senechault’s bronze medal in Prague took him passed the 150-mark, increasing his lead over Slovenia’s Luca Bozic to 17 points. Bozic will hope to make home advantage count in Tacen to close the gap. France’s Mewen Debliquy, who ranked second in Prague, is just one point behind Bozic in third spot. Pau champion Ryan Westley of Great Britain remains in fourth place, while Poland’s Kacper Sztuba and Spain’s Miquel are chasing hard in fifth and sixth, respectively. 

Women’s Canoe 

It’s suddenly all to play in this category after Australia’s Jessica Fox produced an uncharacteristic below-par performance in Prague. Fox, the three-time Olympic gold medallist, triumphed at both La Seu and Pau only to fail to make the final in the Czech capital. This opened the door for the chasing pack and Spain’s Miren Lazkano took her opportunity. Lazkano, who claimed silver in La Seu, ranked sixth in Prague to get within six points of Fox. France’s Angele Hug is 19 points further back in third position, while Czechia’s Martina Satkova dropped a place to fourth. Slovakia’s Zuzana Pankova has gone up to fifth after clinching her first-ever World Cup crown in Prague. Other paddlers in the running for the title are Leibfarth and Czechia’s Gabriela Satkova, while Italy’s Elena Borghi, Slovakia’s Emanuela Luknarova, Switzerland’s Alena Marx and Andorra’s Monica Doria who are all on 96 points. 

Men’s Kayak Cross Individual 

Krejci has replaced Great Britain’s Sam Leaver at the top of this category after another strong performance. It was not the gold he desired on home waters in Prague, but his second-placed finish saw him overtake Leaver who placed 15th. There are only four points separating Leaver in second and Switzerland’s Jan Rohrer in fourth, as they aim to chase down Krejci who is 16 points clear at the summit. New Zealand’s Finn Butcher is in fifth, while Belgium’s Gabriel De Coster struck gold in Prague to move into sixth position ahead of Czechia’s Matyas Novak and Spain’s Manuel Ochoa who have also showed great pace this season. 

Women’s Kayak Cross Individual 

Can anyone stop Prigent? The Frenchwoman has been in electrifying form in this event, ranking second in La Seu and Prague either side of her success in Pau. If anyone can do it, it’s Australian superstar Fox who powered to her first kayak cross title of the season in Prague. She’s now hot on the heels of Prigent who has a 16-point advantage with two legs remaining. Among the other contenders to snatch the title from Prigent are Leibfarth, Lazkano and Funk, while Australia’s Noemie Fox and Great Britain’s Wood are not too far behind and could find themselves right in the mix if they do well in Tacen this week. 

Men’s Kayak Cross 

Rohrer is now out on his own in first place. He was level with Spain’s David Llorente heading into the World Cup in Prague. But a disappointing performance from Llorente and another strong showing from Rohrer saw the Swiss seize control. Ochoa is his nearest challenger after the Spaniard bagged bronze in Prague, while Great Britain’s Jonny Dickson and Novak are also in the top four. Butcher’s first World Cup triumph since winning Olympic gold last year has boosted his hopes as he sits in seventh position, one place behind Czechia’s Martin Rudorfer who also got on the podium in Prague. 

Women’s Kayak Cross 

As well as making her dreams come true with victory in front of a packed home crowd in Prague, Tereza Kneblova also moved to the top of the standings. Kneblova’s memorable gold medal saw her usurp Australia’s Jessica Fox who is just one point ahead of Prigent who claimed silver in Prague. Leibfarth’s bronze medal has increased her chances as she climbed to sixth, while Hocevar and Hug occupy fourth and fifth place, respectively. Funk, Leaver, Lazkano and Woods are also in the top 10.