Ryan Westley claimed a maiden World Cup gold medal with a storming final run in the men’s C1 in Pau.
Westley produced a clean run of 97.74s to take top spot in southern France, with some excellent paddling through the final two sectors powering him to the top of the podium.
The Exeter-born paddler was the penultimate paddler to take the course in the final after a strong run in the heats qualified him second and he faced an anxious wait but Kacper Sztuba was unable to better his time and deny him a glorious gold.
It continues Great Britain’s excellent start to the World Cup season, following Adam Burgess’ silver medal in La Seu a week ago.
“It feels really good to stand at the top of the podium at any international race,” he said. “But to check that off my list as having won a World Cup was really good.
“I have come close a few times before but to put it down again, I am really happy with that.
“When I crossed the line, I thought I had made a few mistakes and I didn’t think it would be enough. To see green was a welcome surprise. It doesn’t happen very often, normally I have got a pretty good idea if a run was good or not.
“I knew I had a medal but really wanted that gold. It definitely feels a lot differnet hearing the national anthem and getting to stand on the top step.”
Victory is Westley’s first World Cup gold, adding to the two silvers and three bronzes he has won over the course of his career.
Elsewhere in the men’s C1, Luc Royle narrowly missed out on the final after a 16th-place finish in the heats.
Royle was 0.36 seconds away from progressing to the final, but his time of 105.04 was just not enough despite a clean run.
Adam Burgess also missed out on the final after his silver medal in La Seu last week, with the Olympic silver medallist from Paris 25th in the heats.
In the women’s competition, Bethan Forrow qualified for her first World Cup final in four years, where she finished ninth.
Forrow qualified sixth-fastest for the final but was unable to upgrade to the podium, with two touches on gates 17 and 18 ultimately killing her momentum after a promising start.
“I am initially super proud to get into the final,” she said. “I went out there and gave it everything I had.
“It has been four years since my last senior World Cup final, so it has been a long time coming. I have been pretty patient and worked pretty hard.
“I am really happy and hoping to take the learnings from this race into the next one. I feel like I am getting to a point where it is coming together and I am excited to see what Prague holds.”
Kimberley Woods missed out on the final with a 16th-placed finish in the heats, with the Rugby-born paddler half a second away from progressing with a time of 118.16.
Ellis Miller also missed out after finishing 33rd in the heats in a time of 131.27.
The full results and schedule for the rest of the weekend can be found here.
The racing continues tomorrow with the kayak cross time trials and finals.
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