Holme Pierrepont’s Ben Haylett was the sole British finalist on the opening day of the first ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup.
Held at the iconic Barcelona 1992 Olympic course in Le Seu d’Urgell, this weekend sees a new format which means in the canoe slalom there is one round of heats, with just 12 paddlers qualifying through to the final.
But despite the new schedule creating challenges for most of the British K1 paddlers, it was Ben who shone, racing in his first ever senior final.
Having just missed the final at the recent European Championships in his debut senior season, Ben qualified safely this time, coming sixth in the heats, putting down a clean run.
And while the final didn’t quite go to plan, he ultimately finished in a lifetime’s best of 12th place overall.
“Paddling solidly this morning played into my favour in the heats,” he said.
“The course was fiddly in places and it made the margins super tight and there wasn’t much room for error. The value of a clean run was super high.
“I was gutted to come so close in Paris but it was good to improve on that here – it’s what we’ve worked really hard on the last few weeks – and all the winter.
“Consistency in delivery is something I’ve not always had but to have managed that on the biggest stage has been really pleasing.
“I’m aware of the mistakes I made in the final and why they were made. The touch on gate one threw me a bit and it took me a while to get the run back on track but from gate 10, stroke for stroke was almost identical to my semi-final run so there are positive learnings to take from today.”
CR Cats’ Jonny Dickson was 26th after a late touch on gate 17 with Jake Brown (Tees) in 45th.
Olympic bronze medallist Kimberley Woods (Rugby) was the highest ranked British woman in the K1 heats.
“Today’s racing didn’t go as well as I’d planned but I still have a few more opportunities to race this weekend,” she said.
“I made one big mistake and hit a few more gates than I meant to on the way down but I’m looking forward to the C1 tomorrow.”
She finished in 18th place with two late penalties proving costly.
Edinburgh Schools’ Lois Leaver was 21st with compatriot Nikita Setchell (Holme Pierrepoint) finishing in 32nd.
The full results and schedule can be found here.
Racing continues tomorrow with the C1 heats.
How to watch
Planet Canoe YouTube channel members will have exclusive access to live coverage of all the major International Canoe Federation events in 2024 for €9.99 a month.
Sign into YouTube, or create an account, and click JOIN to watch uninterrupted live coverage of the world’s best paddlers competing for top honours.
Sign in to YouTube, or create an account
Go to Planet Canoe’s channel
Click ‘JOIN’ and fill out your payment details
After becoming a member, you will have access to the exclusive members tab and can watch members-only content.