This weekend, the Sava River hosts a major international competition, the I Feel Slovenia Canoe Slalom Cup Tacen 2025, which also counts as a 2025 ECA Open Canoe Slalom European Cup race and ICF Canoe Slalom World Ranking race. On Saturday, the canoe events saw victories for Slovenian athletes Eva Alina and Žiga Lin Hočevar, while the kayak wins went to Italy.
The I Feel Slovenia Canoe Slalom Cup Tacen 2025 brought two victories for young Slovenian national team members. Eva Alina Hočevar claimed the win in the women’s canoe final, posting a time of 95.20 seconds and beating Italy’s Marta Bertoncelli by 1.57 seconds. French paddler Doriane Delassus finished third, almost three seconds behind Eva Alina. Six other Slovenian athletes competed in the final: Alja Kozorog narrowly missed the podium in fourth, followed by Lea Novak in fifth, Sara Belingar in seventh, Ema Lampič in eighth, and Lea Senica in ninth.
In the last final of the day, Žiga Lin Hočevar secured a dominant win in the men’s canoe final, finishing 2.79 seconds ahead of Tokyo Olympic champion Benjamin Savšek. Croatian paddler Matija Marinić, who often trains on the Tacen course, came third. Luka Božič, after a touch and two penalty seconds, placed sixth, and Juš Javornik also had a touch and finished seventh.
Eva Alina Hočevar also stood on the podium in the women’s kayak event, finishing third. She was beaten by two Italian competitors: Stefanie Horn, the 2017 European silver medallist in Tacen, and Francesca Malaguti. Eva Alina was less than four seconds off the winning time. Sara Belingar also competed in the final and took sixth place.
Another Slovenian third place came from Solkan native Tine Kancler, who finished behind two Italian athletes in the men’s kayak final. He crossed the finish line a little over three seconds behind the winner. The victory went to young Xabier Ferrazzi, the son of an Olympic champion from Barcelona and a former top-level Spanish kayaker. Reigning Olympic and European champion Giovanni de Gennaro came second. Peter Kauzer finished fourth.
The competition weekend in the Kayak Centre Tacen carries extra weight for Slovenian athletes, as Saturday’s and Sunday’s heats runs also count as the first selection races for the national team. The third and fourth selection races will take place next weekend in Ivrea, Italy.
In the first national team selection race, Eva Alina Hočevar was the top Slovenian in the women’s canoe event, followed by Alja Kozorog, Lea Novak, Sara Belingar, and Ema Lampič. In the men’s kayak, Žiga Lin Hočevar led the selection standings, followed by Martin Srabotnik and Peter Kauzer, who is already on the team due to last season’s results. They were trailed by Lan Tominc, Ulan Valant, and Jan Ločnikar. Eva Alina Hočevar also led the women’s kayak rankings, ahead of Ajda Novak, Lea Novak, Sara Belingar, and Ula Skok. In the men’s canoe category, the top three were Benjamin Savšek, Žiga Lin Hočevar, and Luka Božič – all already secured spots on the national team – followed by Juš Javornik.
LIVE STREAM – I FEEL SLOVENIA CANOE SLALOM CUP TACEN 2025:
https://www.youtube.com/kajakzveza
https://www.youtube.com/CanoeEurope
RESULTS:
https://www.timing-mojstrana.com
