Ljubljana, more precisely the famous canoe slalom course in Tacen, which has been hosting the biggest international wild water competitions since 1955, will be in the spotlight of the kayak and sports community between 24th and 26th June 2022. It will host the third ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup race in the season 2022. More than 200 competitors from 32 countries will compete on the Sava River.
Among the main favourites for the top positions on the Sava River will certainly be Slovenian competitors, who always achieve excellent results on the domestic course, and in addition, this year they have already proven that they are in exceptional shape. At the end of May, Tokyo Olympic Champion Benjamin Savšek, became the European Canoe Slalom Champion for the fourth time, and in the last World Cup race before the athletes moved to Ljubljana, he was second. At the first World Cup race of the season in Prague, Peter Kauzer won in men’s kayak final and Luka Božič in men’s canoe.
Promising results were achieved also in the youngest canoeing discipline – extreme slalom – which will be featured in the Olympic programme for the first time in Paris 2024. Ajda Novak was third in the women’s competition at the European Championships, and Vid Kuder Marušič was second in the men’s extreme kayak final at the World Cup in Krakow.
Slovenians have more than a good record before the race in front of their home crowd and expectations will be accordingly high. This time, Tacen will host the Canoe Slalom World Cup race for the nineteenth time in history, and the local competitors have collected 14 gold medals, 12 silver and seven bronze medals so far.
But the task of conquering the highest places will not be easy. Practically all the best canoe slalom paddlers in the world came to Slovenia, including the superstar of this sport, Australian Jessica Fox. In addition to Jessica Fox, Benjamin Savšek and Peter Kauzer, we will be able to enjoy the performances of other Olympic medal winners too, such as Matej Benuš, Jakub Grigar, Sideris Tasiadis, Mallory Franklin, Joseph Clark, Denis Gargaud Chanut, Lukaš Rohan, Jiri Prskavec and many other medallists from major canoeing competitions.
The organisers expect competitors from Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, North Macedonia, Mauritius, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Senegal, Switzerland, Slovakia, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine, the United States of America and Slovenia.
Tickets are available at eventim.si and Petrol service stations, and during the competition days they will also be available for purchase at the entrance to the venue. Admission will be free on Friday, and the price for the Saturday’s or Sunday’s part of the programme is 5.00 EUR.
Ljubljana Public Transport (LPP) provides day ticket holders with a free city bus to the race in Tacen.
More at: www.slalomtacen.com
Programme:
Friday, June 24th
9.00 Heats – women’s kayak and men’s kayak
14.15 Heats – women’s canoe and men’s canoe
Saturday, June 25th
9.00 Semifinals – women’s kayak and men’s kayak
12.00 Finals – women’s kayak and men’s kayak
16.00 Extreme Slalom Time trial
Sunday, June 26th
9.00 Semifinals – women’s canoe and men’s canoe
11.30 Finals – women’s canoe and men’s canoe
15.15 Extreme slalom – final phase
16:30 Extreme slalom – quarterfinal, semifinal, final
TEAM SLOVENIA
Kayak men: Peter Kauzer, Martin Srabotnik, Ulan Valant
Kayak women: Eva Terčelj, Eva Alina Hočevar, Ajda Novak
Canoe men: Benjamin Savšek, Luka Božič, Anže Berčič
Canoe women: Alja Kozorog, Eva Alina Hočevar, Lea Novak
Extreme slalom – men: Vid Kuder Marušič, Tine Kancler, Marko Petek, Martin Srabotnik
Extreme slalom – women: Ajda Novak, Eva Terčelj, Eva Alina Hočevar
