Kayak Cross: Heats / 2023 ICF Canoe-Kayak Slalom World Cup Vaires Sur Marne Paris France

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2023 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup
5–8 October, Vaires Sur Marne Paris France ️
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Transcript

00:00:00 [Beeping]

00:00:08 [Radio chatter]

00:00:11 Nice.

00:00:12 [Music]

00:00:34 Here we are, folks.

00:00:35 The final day of what has been a very long season of slalom paddling for 2023.

00:00:42 It is kayak cross finals day, and we're coming to you live from Paris.

00:00:49 What a great weekend it's been.

00:00:51 What a great season it's been.

00:00:53 The highs, the lows, the tears, the cheers, it's all been there.

00:00:59 And today we're going to wrap it all up with some pretty high-style action from this incredible course.

00:01:07 This is, of course, the venue where next year, in around 10 months from now,

00:01:11 the kayak cross competition will make its Olympic debut.

00:01:15 Cannot wait. Cannot wait.

00:01:16 My name is Ross Solley.

00:01:17 Great to be with you this morning.

00:01:19 Sitting right alongside me, the voice of kayak cross, Mr. Brodie Crawford.

00:01:25 I can't stay away, Ross.

00:01:27 You cannot stay away.

00:01:28 I told you to get out there and get into the finals, but you insisted on bombing out earlier.

00:01:34 I had a good crack.

00:01:35 It was good fun.

00:01:36 I had a good taste of it.

00:01:37 Good for the commentary.

00:01:38 I've been out there.

00:01:39 I've felt it.

00:01:40 Felt that big ramp.

00:01:41 It's high.

00:01:42 It's scary.

00:01:43 Yes, I think when our viewers get a look at this ramp in just a moment,

00:01:47 they will see it's probably the highest ramp I think we've had.

00:01:51 For sure, yes.

00:01:52 It's a big drop.

00:01:54 It's a big drop from the starting ramp onto the water.

00:01:57 Brodie, a lot of differences as well.

00:02:00 Here we had repper charges.

00:02:01 We had all sorts of things.

00:02:03 Tell us a little bit about the format first of all and how you found it.

00:02:06 Yes, so we had the time trial yesterday, and the top 42 progressed.

00:02:11 Then we had another round of heats, which we don't normally have,

00:02:15 and half the field went through, and then whoever was left again raced off again,

00:02:20 and they took another half.

00:02:22 So the best of the rest, I guess, went through.

00:02:24 Yes, two more rounds.

00:02:25 It was good fun.

00:02:26 Yes, the repper charge round.

00:02:27 So a lot of athletes have done a lot of runs already on this water.

00:02:31 The reason that this was introduced here,

00:02:32 because that is what's going to happen next year at the Olympics.

00:02:35 It's really exciting.

00:02:36 There's going to be heats.

00:02:37 There's going to be repper charges.

00:02:39 There's going to be lots of opportunity in Paris for athletes to get through

00:02:43 to the final rounds.

00:02:45 Beautiful day here in Paris.

00:02:46 Absolutely incredible.

00:02:48 We've been blessed by the weather, haven't we, Brodie?

00:02:50 Yes, it's been ridiculous, especially for October.

00:02:53 It's just been so warm.

00:02:55 To be honest, it's a little bit scary that it can be so hot.

00:02:57 It's around 25 degrees at the moment in Paris.

00:03:00 Look at that.

00:03:01 People, a little bit of manger happening here in the French capital.

00:03:06 Yes, shorts and singlets out today.

00:03:08 Shorts and singlets and sensible hats, and that's good.

00:03:13 Lots of flags, lots of French flags, bucket hats out in number.

00:03:21 So this is the final World Cup kayak cross event of the year.

00:03:25 So we're all crowned at the end of today our overall World Cup winners.

00:03:29 I can tell you going into today, the leader of the women's competition is

00:03:34 Italy's Stephanie Horn ahead of Kimberly Woods.

00:03:37 The leader of the men's competition is Joe Clark ahead of the Swiss duo of

00:03:42 Jan Rohrer and Dimitri Marx.

00:03:44 So all of those paddlers will be in action today, which will be exciting.

00:03:48 We're going to see some great racing.

00:03:49 Look at that, folks.

00:03:50 That's the drop that Brody's talking about.

00:03:53 Yes, I can't even see the water in that shot.

00:03:55 That's how high they are.

00:03:56 It's a long way down.

00:03:57 What's it like once you hit the water, Brody?

00:03:59 It must be a bit of a --

00:04:00 Yes, it's pretty firm.

00:04:01 It's more firm than usual.

00:04:03 But, yes, it's exciting up there.

00:04:05 It definitely gets the heart racing.

00:04:07 So we have Emma Vuitton from France next to her, Luca Jones from New Zealand,

00:04:15 and Hannah Thomas from New Zealand and Eva Terschel from Slovenia.

00:04:19 So two Kiwis in here wedged between the two Europeans.

00:04:24 The top two go through.

00:04:26 What do you think, Brody?

00:04:27 I'm sure.

00:04:28 Luca Jones was so fast.

00:04:30 You can see she's rank one there because she was the quickest yesterday in the time trial.

00:04:34 She was looking really good in good form.

00:04:36 So I'm sure she'll start real hot.

00:04:38 So I'm assuming she gets her choice of lanes here.

00:04:41 It's interesting that she's chosen that one.

00:04:43 What can you tell us from your experience why that would be a good lane to go from?

00:04:47 Yes, it seems like the middle two lanes are the stronger lanes.

00:04:51 I think they're more in the flow.

00:04:53 The far left, so right of your screen --

00:04:55 Where Eva is.

00:04:56 Yes, where Eva is, is the weakest because you kind of go into the really slow water.

00:05:01 So it's kind of even to the right of Eva -- or left, sorry, on the screen.

00:05:05 Yes.

00:05:06 But, yes, middle lanes are the fastest.

00:05:09 Okay.

00:05:10 Drop.

00:05:11 That is unbelievable.

00:05:12 What an exciting start to the race.

00:05:14 Already, Luca Jones getting out early and putting the pedal to the metal.

00:05:21 Eva Terschel moves into the second position from that tricky outside lane.

00:05:25 Emma Vuitton is third and Hannah Thomas sitting fourth at the moment.

00:05:28 So Luca Jones has a commanding lead here.

00:05:30 Here's the first challenge, the first upstream gate.

00:05:33 She's going to get around before anyone else gets near.

00:05:35 A bit of a trouble over the other side.

00:05:37 Looks like Eva Terschel is struggling.

00:05:39 Really struggling.

00:05:40 And Hannah Thomas has snuck under Eva Terschel.

00:05:43 At the moment it's Jones in front and Emma Vuitton second.

00:05:48 Yes, Luca Jones just had a quick look over her shoulder and saw that she had plenty of space.

00:05:52 And she said, "Watch these guys."

00:05:53 Flew ahead.

00:05:54 But it's still on for second.

00:05:56 They're going to need to push there.

00:05:57 Third and fourth have dropped back a little bit.

00:05:59 Nice move there from Luca.

00:06:01 And, yes, it looks like Emma Vuitton is also pretty safe.

00:06:04 She's not using any more effort than she needs.

00:06:08 And she will safely go through, you would think.

00:06:11 Although, remember last week, Brodie, we saw all sorts of dramas at the finish line.

00:06:16 No such dramas here.

00:06:18 Got to keep a keen eye out for the faults, we call them, and mistakes that these athletes make.

00:06:23 Sometimes we miss them.

00:06:25 So, interestingly, Luca's got rid of the -- she was wearing earlier on in the season some face protection.

00:06:32 Yes, I noticed that today.

00:06:34 The guard's gone.

00:06:37 So she's obviously taken the decision then.

00:06:39 She feels quite safe out there.

00:06:40 I'm not quite sure why.

00:06:42 I'm not sure that anybody should know.

00:06:44 And look at this drop, folks.

00:06:46 That is -- it's a long way there.

00:06:48 And it's the little river band once sang.

00:06:51 For people of an older generation, Brodie, you have no idea what I'm talking about.

00:06:55 No, I don't, Ross, but --

00:06:58 She got out early.

00:06:59 Look at that.

00:07:00 A little bit of trouble in the back there.

00:07:02 Yes, I don't know about that for Vuitton there.

00:07:03 That was questionable, I reckon.

00:07:05 You think she might have got -- here we go.

00:07:06 Let's have a look at the replay.

00:07:08 Ooh, is that okay?

00:07:09 She got it on the top of the noggin.

00:07:11 I don't think it is, Ross.

00:07:12 I think --

00:07:13 Well, let's wait and see.

00:07:14 There's no disqualification going up alongside her.

00:07:18 I'd like to get another replay if --

00:07:20 Judges might have missed the trick.

00:07:22 Cedric and Roger in the soundproof booth.

00:07:24 If we can go back and have a look at that first --

00:07:26 I'm not sure about that one either there from Luca Jones.

00:07:29 You're calling them today, Brodie.

00:07:31 Yeah.

00:07:32 It's shoulders and head through the gate in Kite Cross, not just the head.

00:07:36 So a little questionable there, Luca Jones.

00:07:38 Should we go back and have a look at Luca's last up straight there?

00:07:41 Because -- well, the judges will need to have a look.

00:07:47 Luca Jones doing the -- here they go.

00:07:48 Look at them.

00:07:49 They've heard -- they've said, "Oh, Brodie Crawford wants us to check this out."

00:07:52 We're going to have a look.

00:07:53 I'm going to get myself in trouble here.

00:07:54 Messrs.

00:07:55 Woken, Woodgate and Bupat is -- they are looking over it now.

00:07:58 Get out of the way, Hans.

00:08:00 Get out, yeah.

00:08:01 [Laughter]

00:08:02 He heard you, Ross.

00:08:03 He's scratching Tiger Hidden Dragon there.

00:08:07 Who are they looking at here, Ross?

00:08:09 They're looking at -- ooh, it might be --

00:08:12 There's Jones in the up.

00:08:13 They're looking Jones in the up there.

00:08:14 Here we go.

00:08:15 Let's have a look here.

00:08:16 So this is the first one.

00:08:17 We're looking here at the green shirt.

00:08:19 Did she go the right side of that gate?

00:08:22 Ooh.

00:08:23 Straight over the top.

00:08:24 Straight over the top?

00:08:25 That's got to be full head and shoulders in the gate.

00:08:28 Yep.

00:08:29 Ooh.

00:08:30 No, no.

00:08:31 She might have trouble.

00:08:32 I think the judges --

00:08:33 Oh, no.

00:08:34 They've given it the okay, Ross.

00:08:35 They've given that the okay.

00:08:36 I think.

00:08:37 Is that official, qualified?

00:08:38 Well, we did see some late calls last week, but, geez.

00:08:42 And you're into the quarterfinal.

00:08:44 Got in the way with a couple there, I tell you.

00:08:47 Tell you what, those athletes will be grateful that we're not judges.

00:08:50 [Laughter]

00:08:51 Because we've just disqualified the entire first heat.

00:08:54 We've ruled them all out.

00:08:56 So here we go.

00:08:58 Luca Jones and Emma Vuitton through to the quarterfinal.

00:09:05 Ah, what do we know, Daphne?

00:09:07 It's an early contention.

00:09:08 Yeah, it is early.

00:09:09 Early drama here.

00:09:10 Now, Nikita Setschel, three-time under-23 world champion, going in the red.

00:09:15 Anna Satyla from Brazil in the blue.

00:09:18 Mallory Franklin from Great Britain in the yellow.

00:09:22 And Victoria Oos from Ukraine in the green.

00:09:28 And Victoria Oos telling me yesterday, Brodie, she's going back to Ukraine this week

00:09:33 for the first time since January last year, since before the war broke out.

00:09:38 Wow.

00:09:39 Going to be a pretty emotional time for her, that's for sure.

00:09:41 Yeah, I bet.

00:09:42 All right, let's see.

00:09:43 Everyone's okay through that gate by the look of things, and it is Mallory Franklin

00:09:47 who's gone out the quickest.

00:09:48 Nikita Setschel chasing her down, Satyla third, and Oos at the moment sitting in the fourth position.

00:09:54 There is conjecture over what's the best place to be coming into these gates.

00:09:57 Let's see.

00:09:58 Oh, three gone to one side.

00:09:59 They've left Victoria Oos to her own devices.

00:10:01 Oos does well.

00:10:02 Oh, no, she doesn't do well.

00:10:03 Oh, she's got there eventually.

00:10:04 But look at Nikita Setschel.

00:10:06 Oh, she's put a little bit of power on around that gate.

00:10:10 Oh, Mallory knows that she knows.

00:10:13 It's wide open for Victoria Oos now.

00:10:15 She's just got to hold it together.

00:10:16 Mallory knows that she didn't go the right side.

00:10:19 There is some honesty, folks, in Miss Lallum.

00:10:22 If she had have known what Brodie and I knew after the first heat, she would have just gone for it

00:10:26 because they wouldn't have noticed anyway.

00:10:27 And watch for Satyla here.

00:10:28 She's going to be hunting Victoria Oos down.

00:10:30 Oh, but she might have done herself in.

00:10:34 What's going on here?

00:10:36 I think it's time to go around again.

00:10:39 Yeah, she went too early.

00:10:40 So Victoria Oos just cruising down, not taking any risks at all.

00:10:45 Nikita Setschel cruising to the finish line, so she will go through.

00:10:50 Victoria Oos, this is subject to the eagle eye of Brodie Crawford picking out some faults in the replays.

00:10:56 But, yeah, look, Anna Satyla, I think, got one in the face.

00:10:59 I think if we see a replay, it was her own-- she did it.

00:11:03 It was her move.

00:11:04 Yeah, she took the risk of coming in fast to try and push Victoria Oos out the way, but couldn't get it done.

00:11:10 And I think she got a boat to the face.

00:11:13 Yes, for effort.

00:11:15 Yeah, so we hope that she's okay.

00:11:18 But really good start here from Franklin.

00:11:20 And here you see she went the wrong side.

00:11:24 Look at that.

00:11:25 Oh, no, nothing.

00:11:26 And she sort of goes far out, she said.

00:11:29 Meanwhile, look at this.

00:11:32 Is that where she got the boat in the face?

00:11:34 I think so.

00:11:36 She tried.

00:11:37 She had a good crack.

00:11:39 It wasn't too bad, actually.

00:11:41 It wasn't as bad as I thought.

00:11:42 Nikita Setral showing that form that's taken her to under 23 world titles.

00:11:48 One of the early leaders in this sport.

00:11:50 And look at that.

00:11:51 She hasn't even busted out a sweat on her first run.

00:11:55 So she's through.

00:11:57 Just waiting now for official confirmation from the judges.

00:12:00 There they go.

00:12:01 In ground control there, just checking things over, making sure.

00:12:06 Checking their list.

00:12:08 Checking it twice.

00:12:10 And it looks like they're just looking to see if Nikita Setral swore or anything at the end.

00:12:15 But she is safely through.

00:12:17 I don't think there were any problems at all.

00:12:19 And the QF goes up alongside Nikita Setral and Victoria Uss from Ukraine.

00:12:24 So they move through to the next round.

00:12:27 Well raced.

00:12:28 Especially from Uss there.

00:12:29 She was starting at the back of the race and then just tactically made her way to the front.

00:12:35 Well, helped a bit, I think, by Mallory Franklin.

00:12:37 Yes.

00:12:38 Making a big mistake and Franklin then having to turn around and go back.

00:12:43 Righto, here we go now.

00:12:44 Stephanie Horn, our overall World Cup leader.

00:12:48 There she is in the green.

00:12:50 Next to her, Teresa Fizerova, the overall silver medalist from last year.

00:12:57 Alongside her, Lois Betridge from Canada.

00:13:00 And then alongside her, a former world champion, Veronika Votova from the Czech Republic.

00:13:05 What a stacked feat this is, Brody.

00:13:07 Sure is.

00:13:08 Yep, a couple of fast checks there.

00:13:10 Let's see how they go off the start here.

00:13:12 There's some quality in this race.

00:13:14 Let's see how they go.

00:13:15 And it looks like Fizerova getting out there early.

00:13:18 You can see those middle lanes going ahead again.

00:13:20 Everything's okay there.

00:13:22 So Fizerova is first.

00:13:23 Betridge second at the moment.

00:13:25 Horn third.

00:13:26 And Votova sitting there waiting to pounce on the upstream gates now.

00:13:31 Here's the big decision.

00:13:32 Which side will they go?

00:13:33 Let's go to who?

00:13:34 Two and two, by the look of things.

00:13:36 Good move.

00:13:37 That's Steffi Horn.

00:13:38 Classic move from here.

00:13:39 Oh, yeah.

00:13:40 Classic move from the Italian.

00:13:42 Into the lead.

00:13:43 Very impressive.

00:13:44 Straight into the lead.

00:13:45 That's what's got her on top of the World Cup standings this year.

00:13:47 Oh, look at Lois here, though.

00:13:49 Just knocks Fizerova out of the way.

00:13:51 Takes second.

00:13:52 That was beautifully done.

00:13:53 So Lois Betridge making a bit of a move here from Canada.

00:13:57 The Canadians are standing up now.

00:13:59 They're roaring their approval.

00:14:01 Can Fizerova get one back on her?

00:14:03 She's going for it.

00:14:04 She's going for it.

00:14:05 Here we go.

00:14:06 The old "Here's one for you, here's one for me."

00:14:09 It's going to be close.

00:14:11 It's got to be on for the finish here.

00:14:13 Oh!

00:14:14 Oh!

00:14:15 Oh, no, no.

00:14:16 I think, Lois Betridge, you're in trouble.

00:14:19 Yes, no, you can't do that.

00:14:22 You cannot do that.

00:14:23 That was-- that's a red card.

00:14:26 She looks like she's in a fair bit of pain there, Ross.

00:14:29 Yeah.

00:14:30 That is a red card for sure.

00:14:34 Yeah, Lois Betridge coming up now to apologize.

00:14:36 But I don't think the apology will be accepted.

00:14:39 That was-- whoa, the scenes.

00:14:42 We haven't seen much of that so far this season.

00:14:44 That was just--

00:14:47 We do not want to see that.

00:14:49 That cannot be condoned.

00:14:51 I mean--

00:14:52 It's tough, though.

00:14:53 You're just going for it, head of the moment,

00:14:55 just trying to get into the lead.

00:14:56 For sure, it is a tough competition.

00:15:00 But look at this.

00:15:01 Look at that.

00:15:04 That was all right out of there.

00:15:06 But here's where the problem came.

00:15:09 And this is where Lois Betridge is going to get herself into trouble.

00:15:12 No, no, no, look at that.

00:15:14 Oh!

00:15:16 No, no, no, no, no, no.

00:15:19 I think I saw some blood there.

00:15:22 Opened up a bit of skin.

00:15:24 That's the edge of that paddle.

00:15:25 That's why we have the thicker paddles for this sport,

00:15:29 for that reason, so they don't cut anyone.

00:15:32 The edges are thicker than slalom blades.

00:15:34 But, yeah.

00:15:35 Yeah, you do not want to see that.

00:15:39 Yeah, Stephanie Horne, meanwhile, and Veronica Vojtova.

00:15:44 Yeah, to Lois' credit, though, she could have finished that race,

00:15:48 but she stopped straight away.

00:15:49 Right, I think she knew she was in big trouble.

00:15:51 Yeah, because she was in second place.

00:15:52 She stopped, checked if Frisarova was OK.

00:15:56 And then Veronica Vojtova was the beneficiary of all of that.

00:15:59 Yep, just sneaking through and getting into the next round.

00:16:03 But let's hope we're just trying to check here to raise the Fisarova that she's OK.

00:16:13 Getting some attention there on the side.

00:16:18 We don't want to see that.

00:16:21 That's not what we want to see in kayak cross racing.

00:16:29 Yeah, it's crazy.

00:16:30 I've only seen that once before, the eye being hit, and it was Fisarova.

00:16:34 Do you remember?

00:16:35 Yeah, a couple of years ago.

00:16:36 A couple of years ago.

00:16:37 Had to get some stitches.

00:16:38 She raced for the rest of the season with stitches.

00:16:41 Yeah.

00:16:42 So, yeah, that's lucky.

00:16:45 Cast a bit of a pawl over the race, but that's all right.

00:16:47 Let's get back out there now.

00:16:49 We'll try and bring you an update later on anything that develops from the contact sport.

00:16:55 It is common.

00:16:56 These things happen.

00:16:57 Yep, she was always accidental.

00:16:59 So this is a nice girl.

00:17:00 Yes, she is.

00:17:01 Well, she sits in that seat where you're sitting quite often and commentates,

00:17:04 so I'm sure she did not mean any ill will.

00:17:09 Naomi Fox from Australia in the red.

00:17:12 Mirin Lazcano from Spain.

00:17:15 Eliska Mintelova from Slovakia.

00:17:17 And Tereza Neblova, great start from Fox there.

00:17:20 Look at that, straight to the lead.

00:17:21 She's really determined to do well in this.

00:17:23 Oh, good contest, though, between herself and Neblova.

00:17:27 This is going to be a close contest at the first upstream gate.

00:17:30 Mintelova moves into third, and Lazcano drops back into fourth.

00:17:34 But it's Fox and Neblova at the moment.

00:17:36 Are they going to go to opposite sides?

00:17:38 Yes, they are.

00:17:39 Smart.

00:17:40 In fact, Naomi Fox has got a bit of clear air here.

00:17:43 She can get around.

00:17:44 There's a bit of a battle going on on the other side.

00:17:46 Good move from Mintelova.

00:17:48 Mintelova and Neblova are going.

00:17:50 Side by side there.

00:17:51 They are.

00:17:52 Oh, the swinging pole.

00:17:53 The swinging pole is okay.

00:17:55 Oh, my goodness, someone's upside down.

00:17:57 It's all happening.

00:17:58 I think that's Lazcano went upside down.

00:18:00 Neblova went upside down.

00:18:01 So --

00:18:02 It's still on here for second place.

00:18:04 She's got an early roll in.

00:18:05 Look at that, they're next to each other coming into this last upstream.

00:18:08 Naomi Fox, though, she's just cruising along there now.

00:18:11 No need for her to get into any trouble.

00:18:13 Bit of a race for second, but it looks like it's going to be --

00:18:16 Mintelova just nailing that up.

00:18:17 And look at that.

00:18:18 She has got a review going on, though.

00:18:20 So I'm not sure where the problem was for Mintelova.

00:18:23 But Naomi Fox, no doubt about that.

00:18:25 Oh, Mintelova, why would you do that?

00:18:29 Why would you make things --

00:18:30 Fault.

00:18:31 Straight on there.

00:18:32 No doubts there from the judges.

00:18:34 That's crazy.

00:18:35 Why would you do that on the last gate?

00:18:37 Take that risk.

00:18:39 I mean, I know you can't help which way your canoe is going, but --

00:18:42 Your kayak is going, but --

00:18:44 Well done, Naomi Fox.

00:18:46 Little race from Naomi.

00:18:47 Yeah, pretty easy run through.

00:18:49 Yep, she'll be pretty happy with that.

00:18:52 So Mintelova was already being reviewed.

00:18:56 Let's have a look.

00:18:57 Is it on this gate here?

00:18:58 No, she's --

00:18:59 I think it was the next one.

00:19:03 Yeah, it looked a little dodgy, maybe.

00:19:05 Here we go.

00:19:08 The swinging gate.

00:19:09 The swinging gate.

00:19:10 This one.

00:19:11 Oh, no, no, no, they're all right.

00:19:13 Now, there was a bit of a --

00:19:14 Oh, is that rough contact?

00:19:17 I don't think so.

00:19:18 Sort of unavoidable.

00:19:19 Yep.

00:19:21 Naomi, don't take your hand off the paddle.

00:19:22 Don't --

00:19:23 Oh!

00:19:25 No, there was contact.

00:19:27 Did she take the hand off the paddle?

00:19:28 No, she didn't.

00:19:29 Look at that smile.

00:19:30 That smile tells you it's all above board.

00:19:33 But it wouldn't melt in her mouth.

00:19:37 Oh.

00:19:39 No, we're in a lascardo.

00:19:41 Gets through, doesn't she?

00:19:42 Gets through, yep.

00:19:44 You're calling it.

00:19:45 Let's have a look.

00:19:46 The judges --

00:19:47 I think so.

00:19:48 You're calling it before the judges.

00:19:49 They're still looking.

00:19:50 So Naomi Fox, though, no doubt about that,

00:19:53 unless they want to have another look at that gate with a hand,

00:19:56 a tricky hand move.

00:20:00 You're trying to stitch her up, aren't you?

00:20:02 No.

00:20:03 I am definitely not.

00:20:05 And if Miriam -- mum Miriam is listening, you know,

00:20:08 the Fox family has no bigger fan than the commentary team.

00:20:14 There we are, confirmation that Naomi Fox and Miriam --

00:20:19 I would have liked to have seen Mintelova going through that last gate,

00:20:22 what she did there.

00:20:23 But it wasn't right.

00:20:25 Whatever she did, the gate went on the wrong side of the box.

00:20:27 Yeah, I think it's -- yeah,

00:20:29 it's so important to get the boat the right side of the gate.

00:20:31 It's so hard to move the gate if the boat's in between you and that gate.

00:20:34 I think that's what went wrong.

00:20:35 Yeah.

00:20:37 All right.

00:20:38 Now look what we've got here.

00:20:39 We've got Olatze Redgi from Spain.

00:20:41 We've got Klaudia Zolinska from Poland.

00:20:44 We've got Eva Elena Joseva from Slovenia and Marjorie de la Sousse from France.

00:20:50 The French crowd are out here again today.

00:20:52 It's been incredible support we've had from the French public all week,

00:20:56 hasn't it?

00:20:57 Yeah, it's been next level.

00:20:58 Ooh, I love it.

00:21:00 It's been an exciting start.

00:21:01 And straightaway, Klaudia Zolinska, look at that.

00:21:04 That is a look of determination from the Polish paddler, Zolinska.

00:21:09 Good battle on behind.

00:21:10 Ooh, what does that mean?

00:21:11 De la Sousse just getting pushed so wide there.

00:21:13 But Joseva just having a little bit of argy-bargy in the background.

00:21:19 But look at Klaudia Zolinska from Poland.

00:21:22 She's got it to herself on this side.

00:21:24 Now the interest to be on -- ooh, oh, no.

00:21:27 De la Sousse has made a mess of it.

00:21:29 She's got to go back.

00:21:30 There she goes.

00:21:31 She's got it now.

00:21:32 Ooh, and Regi almost lost her paddle.

00:21:34 But Klaudia Zolinska looking strong out in front.

00:21:38 Regi from Spain second.

00:21:42 Fair gap there, now.

00:21:43 De la Sousse trying to make up ground.

00:21:45 She wants to have a bit of a move here.

00:21:47 She's going to pull a move on Regi, I reckon.

00:21:49 Regi's got to be good.

00:21:50 Regi's going to get a bit of a French croissant coming straight at her.

00:21:54 There she goes.

00:21:55 Here's the big move.

00:21:56 Is it going to be good enough?

00:21:57 Yes, it is.

00:21:58 Look at that.

00:21:59 It's on.

00:22:00 Straight to the finish.

00:22:01 Here we go.

00:22:02 Who's going to get their first two -- oh, my goodness.

00:22:04 They've both got to go through those gates.

00:22:06 They've done it.

00:22:07 They've got it opposite sides.

00:22:09 This is going to be exciting.

00:22:10 Who's going to get their second?

00:22:11 Is it the Spanish?

00:22:12 Is it the French?

00:22:13 Oh, maybe de la Sousse by a nose.

00:22:18 I had no idea that was --

00:22:19 By a nose, maybe.

00:22:21 Neck and neck.

00:22:22 Oh, that's what we paid the big money for.

00:22:26 Claudia Zolinska, no problems there, I think.

00:22:30 But that race for second, Brodie Crawford.

00:22:34 Yeah, de la Sousse did so well in that last upstream.

00:22:38 Really made up some ground in the sprint for the finish.

00:22:41 They went opposite sides of the course, which added to the drama.

00:22:46 But who got there first?

00:22:47 We're waiting, folks.

00:22:48 We're waiting for the news.

00:22:50 Look at de la Sousse.

00:22:51 She made a bit of a mess of that.

00:22:52 She had a lot of ground to make up.

00:22:54 She's got a quick sprint on her because she was, like you say,

00:22:57 a fair way back out of that first upstream.

00:23:01 So Zolinska just --

00:23:03 Now, here we go.

00:23:04 Look at this move from de la Sousse.

00:23:05 The red bit gets underneath the Spaniard, a riggy.

00:23:09 Perfect undercut.

00:23:10 And they both come out together, almost on top of each other.

00:23:15 Oh, look at that.

00:23:16 That's the paddle across.

00:23:17 I think that's okay, though, just muscling it.

00:23:19 Yep.

00:23:20 And then the sprint for the finish.

00:23:22 So there's Zolinska.

00:23:23 No problems there for Polish paddler Zolinska.

00:23:28 Who got second, though?

00:23:30 The judges have given it to the Spaniard.

00:23:32 Wow.

00:23:34 Big call in the home crowd.

00:23:39 These judges obviously are going to walk to the airport tomorrow to get out of here

00:23:42 because there will be no shuttle provided.

00:23:45 Good luck.

00:23:47 The shuttle will be there at 6 o'clock.

00:23:48 Oh, great.

00:23:49 I'll be waiting for it.

00:23:50 Yeah, good.

00:23:51 Enjoy your waiting.

00:23:52 Might not turn up.

00:23:54 Of course it will.

00:23:56 Excellent organizing.

00:23:57 The French don't mind.

00:23:58 They just want to see great sport.

00:24:01 Dominika Brzeska.

00:24:04 That's a tough one.

00:24:05 Brzeska.

00:24:06 Yep, that's what I'm going with, from Poland.

00:24:08 Malin Saru from Spain, Elena Marks from Switzerland,

00:24:12 and Emily Hilgutova from the Czech Republic.

00:24:18 About to -- gee, our judges, they look the job, don't they?

00:24:22 They look the part.

00:24:23 They do.

00:24:24 They've got serious looks on their faces.

00:24:26 They've got nice hats.

00:24:28 They look up front for business, out the back for party.

00:24:33 For our judges.

00:24:36 A lot of strong heat here.

00:24:38 Yeah.

00:24:39 The Marks family, this is their game.

00:24:41 Yeah, they love the kayak cross.

00:24:43 They're very good at it.

00:24:44 They do.

00:24:45 But Emily Hilgutova, she's also a very determined paddler.

00:24:48 Yep, sure are.

00:24:49 Olympic gold medalist.

00:24:51 Who would want to dismiss an Olympic gold medalist?

00:24:53 All right, let's get this race underway.

00:24:57 It is the sixth heat, sixth of eight heats.

00:25:01 Ready?

00:25:04 And we're underway now.

00:25:06 Looked like on the far side of the course that Hilgutova got a good start.

00:25:11 Straight away, though, it is Marks.

00:25:13 It's Marks, yep.

00:25:14 Racing out there in the true Swiss fashion.

00:25:19 Putting a bit of distance between herself and Emily Hilgutova.

00:25:22 Looks like Cherue sitting in third place and Brzeska from Poland fourth.

00:25:27 As we come to the first upstream gate on that left, we have Marks to her own devices.

00:25:31 Cherue goes to Hilgutova.

00:25:33 Oh, oh, oh, oh, what's going on here?

00:25:36 She's pulled it off.

00:25:37 Oh, my.

00:25:38 Nobody knows.

00:25:39 What's going on?

00:25:40 Nobody knows.

00:25:41 He's going, where?

00:25:42 That was outrageous.

00:25:43 Perfect signals there.

00:25:44 Meryl and Cherue, she's going to have -- she'll know that she's getting very intimate with that gate back there.

00:25:48 That was a traffic jam and a half, and it's opened up the race wonderfully for Hilgutova and Marks.

00:25:53 Oh, Marks is already halfway home.

00:25:55 Those other three still trying to work out how to get around that gate.

00:25:58 Hilgutova had to go between two paddlers on her way out of the gate.

00:26:01 I've seen that before.

00:26:03 The other two were like road works people during peak hour just refusing to get out of the way.

00:26:10 Yep.

00:26:11 Refusing to allow the traffic through.

00:26:13 But look at that.

00:26:14 Alana Marks, that's an easy run for her.

00:26:16 Emily Hilgutova, these two at the back, they're still going for it.

00:26:22 That's Brzeska and Cherue.

00:26:24 But there were some not very good decisions made, I might say.

00:26:29 Not very good decisions made, Brodie, I would say.

00:26:32 I'm going to go out on a limb.

00:26:33 It's not for me to criticize.

00:26:35 I've not been out there and done this.

00:26:37 But I don't know that the three of them going to that side, you have.

00:26:41 Yeah.

00:26:42 I don't know that was the move.

00:26:44 It's a tough one, I think.

00:26:47 Yeah.

00:26:48 If you're in fourth and you're not going to catch first, so maybe you do need to go to the others.

00:26:52 You know what I mean?

00:26:53 For any chance of...

00:26:54 Yeah.

00:26:55 So look at this.

00:26:56 There's only one athlete who's got around the gate.

00:26:57 Awesome chaos.

00:26:58 And she can't get past.

00:26:59 It's like, no, stop.

00:27:02 And now look at poor old...

00:27:04 Poor old Malin Cherue, that gate had no respect for her Olympic pedigree.

00:27:10 Refusing to acknowledge that she was the 2016 Olympic gold medalist.

00:27:14 They can be very frustrating things, those gates.

00:27:16 Sometimes they just don't get out of the way.

00:27:18 Yeah.

00:27:20 But a good race there for Elena Marks from Switzerland.

00:27:25 She had no idea of the chaos that was happening behind her.

00:27:30 No, she had an excellent start from there.

00:27:32 She never looked back, did she?

00:27:34 Just clean all the way.

00:27:35 Yeah.

00:27:37 So confirmation there.

00:27:38 Marks first, Hilbertova second.

00:27:40 They will both go through to the next round.

00:27:48 There is one of the big absences.

00:27:51 Benjamin Rennier did not make it through.

00:27:53 Did he?

00:27:54 Wow.

00:27:55 Did not make it through.

00:27:56 So the team Benjamin T-shirts, well, they're still out in fourth.

00:27:58 Was that the time trial, was it, Ross?

00:27:59 Oh, yeah.

00:28:00 The fault would have got him.

00:28:01 Yeah.

00:28:02 Yeah, missed a gate.

00:28:03 Yeah.

00:28:04 Yeah, paid a big price.

00:28:05 Yeah, he's had a good season in Kite Cross.

00:28:06 That's a big shame.

00:28:07 Check out the quality of this heat.

00:28:10 Liebhardt from the United States, Jess Fox, former world champion,

00:28:15 Monica Doria Villarubla from Andorra, and Kimberly Woods, current world champion.

00:28:22 Huge.

00:28:23 Huge.

00:28:24 Our last two world champions going head to head in the heat.

00:28:26 How does this happen?

00:28:28 My goodness.

00:28:30 Four guns here that we're looking at.

00:28:31 This has got to be good.

00:28:32 This is going to be a crackerjack race, folks.

00:28:35 Do not turn away because you're going to miss some pretty exciting action.

00:28:40 Liebhardt, Fox, Doria Villarubla, and Woods.

00:28:46 The judge is now getting ready.

00:28:48 He moves across to push the button.

00:28:51 In a moment, they will hit the water.

00:28:54 They missed our seventh Kite Cross women's heat.

00:28:58 First two get through to the next round.

00:29:02 Heartbeat starts.

00:29:04 They get you on edge with those beats.

00:29:07 And here we go.

00:29:09 Kimberly Woods, interestingly, Brody, going on what you're saying,

00:29:12 coming from the worst gate.

00:29:14 But look at her move across there.

00:29:16 She's done well from there.

00:29:17 She's done very well.

00:29:18 Fox out first, though.

00:29:20 Woods chasing her down.

00:29:22 Where will the Woods go to Fox?

00:29:23 This should be interesting.

00:29:24 Can a fox hide in the woods?

00:29:27 No.

00:29:28 They're respecting each other's --

00:29:29 Well, they are hiding from each other.

00:29:31 The fox is hiding from the Woods.

00:29:33 Oh, what's happening over the other side?

00:29:35 Kimberly Woods is --

00:29:36 Oh!

00:29:37 What's happening there with Liebhardt?

00:29:39 All sorts of trouble.

00:29:40 She doesn't know whether it's Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday.

00:29:43 It's actually Sunday, Evie, but you've got to go back and do that gate again.

00:29:47 And look at Jessica Fox out in front.

00:29:50 Kimberly Woods now safely in second.

00:29:54 Can Doria do anything to upset Woods here?

00:29:57 She's pretty far back.

00:29:58 She's a long way back.

00:29:59 She can lead a mistake from Woods.

00:30:00 No, no mistake there.

00:30:01 She's not going to get it.

00:30:02 Nope.

00:30:03 Nope.

00:30:04 A little bit of finish.

00:30:07 But a very comfortable result there for our two big guns.

00:30:10 The thing is, the way the draw happens,

00:30:13 they'll come up against each other at every stage now, won't they?

00:30:16 Brody, I think that's the way the draw unfolds.

00:30:19 I'm actually not too sure.

00:30:21 So they all know by the end of today that they've had some pretty serious racing.

00:30:26 Yeah.

00:30:27 And here's Evie Liebhardt coming down, got into all sorts of trouble at that upstream gate.

00:30:35 Fox, though, showing the class there.

00:30:37 Yep.

00:30:38 Led from the start.

00:30:39 Yep.

00:30:40 Got a good gap on the field and the way she went.

00:30:42 That's what we call in the game a knowing smirk.

00:30:45 Yeah.

00:30:47 She knows what's about to unfold.

00:30:50 And look at the way Kimberly Woods, we can see how she got across.

00:30:53 Now, watch here, Evie Liebhardt is in the red.

00:30:56 And maybe a little bit of assistance there from--

00:30:59 Oh, just--

00:31:01 She tried to use her paddle in a weird way there to try and move the gate, but lost her balance.

00:31:05 All she did was ended up in Monica's lap.

00:31:09 In the drink.

00:31:10 Yep.

00:31:11 So that ended her chances,

00:31:13 but Jess Fox gets a chance to have a look back at the rest of the field there.

00:31:16 She would have liked what she saw because nobody was coming anywhere near her.

00:31:21 So Jess Fox moves into the next round.

00:31:27 Another sneaky look.

00:31:29 She had a tough morning, Jess.

00:31:30 She had to go through the repertoire of rounds.

00:31:32 So she's had an extra run down.

00:31:33 She was already exhausted.

00:31:36 So I can't imagine she's feeling on top of her game, but you know that she will always give it her all.

00:31:42 Yep.

00:31:43 Keep that in the counter out.

00:31:45 That's going to be our confirmation.

00:31:46 The Fox and the Woods both get through to the next round.

00:31:52 Oh, gee, it'd be nice sitting out there in the sunshine, wouldn't it, Brodie?

00:31:56 Yeah, it is.

00:31:57 It's very good.

00:31:59 It's a top of 27, I looked last night, so it's a warm day.

00:32:03 It is a warm day.

00:32:05 For Europe in the middle of--

00:32:08 Early October.

00:32:10 Yeah, it's tanning.

00:32:11 That bloke up there on the back, he's got the rig out.

00:32:14 He's got the rig out.

00:32:15 Yeah, October, you can't believe it.

00:32:17 Nope.

00:32:19 Nope.

00:32:20 Good on them coming out and supporting kayak cross.

00:32:22 It's exciting.

00:32:23 It's going to be in the Olympics next year.

00:32:26 And we are all super, super excited to have it there.

00:32:30 Phoebe Spicer, Cammy Prezent, Courtney Williams, and Clara Olifar will make up our final heat.

00:32:38 And Cammy Prezent had a really good world championship, didn't she?

00:32:41 I think she finished, from memory, second.

00:32:44 I think she got the silver.

00:32:45 Yeah, she did.

00:32:46 She had a great-- she had a pretty solid race here, too.

00:32:48 I think she was top five or something in her slalom run.

00:32:52 From memory, yes.

00:32:53 She's on form.

00:32:54 She's second in the time trials, too.

00:32:56 So she's found some pace on this course.

00:32:58 Well, she does know this course back to front.

00:33:00 She was telling me the other day, at first she didn't like it, but she's grown to love it, she said.

00:33:05 Let's see if she'll love it in about 30 seconds from now.

00:33:08 Good start from her there.

00:33:09 Look at that.

00:33:10 Straight to your head.

00:33:11 Straight up.

00:33:12 Going with her, though, is Phoebe Spicer from Great Britain.

00:33:14 There's a bit of a--

00:33:15 Oh, yeah, pushing it wide.

00:33:16 A little bit of an argy-bargy going here, but they sort things out now.

00:33:20 So it's Spicer from Prezent, Olifar, and Williams.

00:33:24 This is a tough-- this is a very close race.

00:33:27 Which side will they go?

00:33:28 Are they splitting?

00:33:29 They are splitting.

00:33:30 So Spicer goes to one side, Prezent goes to the other.

00:33:33 Oh, big move there from Olifar.

00:33:36 Not-- oh, maybe just getting ahead.

00:33:38 There's a big battle on here for the front now.

00:33:40 Look at this, side by side with the gate full.

00:33:43 So still Spicer in front.

00:33:45 Good battle for second between Olifar and Prezent.

00:33:51 There's a review going on for Olifar, but I don't know what happened there,

00:33:53 but we'll go back and have a look in a minute.

00:33:56 But it is Spicer in front.

00:33:58 Look at Prezent go, though, the pace over the water.

00:34:01 Who's going to get out of this gate first?

00:34:03 Oh, she's got trouble.

00:34:04 Oh, no, she caught out of it.

00:34:06 She caught out of it, and she's got a bit of a push off from the New Zealander,

00:34:11 Courtney Williams, so she pushed her into the lead.

00:34:14 And now Cammy Prezent comes down all clear.

00:34:18 Spicer moves into second, and the crowd love it.

00:34:22 Brodie Crawford.

00:34:23 Yeah, well raced.

00:34:24 Prezent up front there.

00:34:27 Clara Olifar has a fault for fault three.

00:34:31 I think we saw that one.

00:34:32 It was quite close over the back of the head.

00:34:34 Yep.

00:34:36 So it wouldn't have mattered, though, because no doubt at all about our first two paddlers,

00:34:40 Cammy Prezent and Phoebe Spicer.

00:34:43 It was a good battle between those two.

00:34:44 Brodie and Bob at the start of the race.

00:34:46 Yeah, they're all side by side about halfway down.

00:34:49 We don't see that too often, so great battle.

00:34:54 Was that a bit of trash talking going on there from Cammy Prezent on the start line?

00:34:58 I saw her lips moving.

00:34:59 I don't know what she was saying.

00:35:00 I didn't see that one.

00:35:01 I think it was something along the lines of,

00:35:03 "Well, these people are all here to watch me, not watch you," sort of trash talk.

00:35:08 Stay out of my way.

00:35:11 And here, oh, yeah, this is -- look at that.

00:35:13 That's when they get up nice and close and intimate with the gates for Phoebe Spicer there.

00:35:21 And Prezent just showing the -- as Brodie said before the race, she's got so much pace over the water.

00:35:30 And then, again, the team to the lead, Spicer takes second and lives to fight another day.

00:35:37 But no such luck for Clara Olifarble or Courtney Williams.

00:35:41 They will both get to have an early shower.

00:35:46 Yep, beer o'clock.

00:35:47 It's the last race.

00:35:48 It is, yep.

00:35:50 Indeed.

00:35:52 Look at that.

00:35:53 There's some excited athletes down there.

00:35:56 And they're going to be continuing racing in this final day of action in their 2023 season.

00:36:04 It's been a long season, Brodie, but it's been a fun season, hasn't it?

00:36:07 It has.

00:36:10 Yeah, been all around Europe.

00:36:12 We started in Augsburg.

00:36:13 Now we're here.

00:36:14 It's been good.

00:36:15 Lots of big races.

00:36:18 Big gap in the middle, which was unusual.

00:36:20 Yes, yep.

00:36:22 And then, of course, the fantastic world championships.

00:36:26 Yeah, it was awesome, wasn't it?

00:36:27 They put on a great show.

00:36:28 They sure did at Lee Valley.

00:36:29 And then here we are, our final event of the year at the home of Canoe Slalom Kite Cross for the 2024 Olympics.

00:36:38 And I tell you what, I take away from this, Brodie, that is, judging by the fans that have come out this week,

00:36:45 I think it's going to be a very special time in Paris next year.

00:36:50 It's a great venue.

00:36:51 They've done a great job.

00:36:52 The course is looking good.

00:36:54 The French fans are so passionate.

00:36:56 Yeah.

00:36:57 Next year, they'll have grandstands up.

00:37:00 Oh, what an atmosphere it will be.

00:37:02 They'll have grandstands up later on in the year.

00:37:05 So there we go.

00:37:06 There's confirmation of our quarterfinal lineups.

00:37:08 Jones, Setschall, Oost and Vuitton.

00:37:10 Fox, Noemi, Horn, Lascano and Rottover.

00:37:15 That's a stacked heat, that quarterfinal two.

00:37:18 And then Marks, Zwolinski, Arrugui, Hilgertover.

00:37:21 And look at that.

00:37:22 Oh, my goodness.

00:37:23 That quarterfinal four.

00:37:26 Prigent, Fox, Woods and Spicer.

00:37:29 That is worthy of a final.

00:37:30 Yeah, you called it earlier, Woods and Fox together again, side by side.

00:37:34 They're going to be travelling cheek by jowl throughout today.

00:37:38 But, gee, it's interesting having that quality, having in that,

00:37:45 because there's also Camille Prigent will be in that race as well,

00:37:48 which is going to add some real interest.

00:37:50 And Phoebe Spicer, who was very good then as well.

00:37:53 So just confirming now, that's the standings going into today's racing.

00:37:58 Joe Clark sitting up there on top.

00:38:00 The two Swiss paddlers, Rohrer and Marks, second and third.

00:38:03 And De La Souce, he's only had two World Cups this year.

00:38:06 Oh, wow.

00:38:07 That's impressive.

00:38:08 Yep.

00:38:09 And there he is sitting fourth.

00:38:10 Yep.

00:38:11 Benjamin Regnier, who's not racing, he didn't make it.

00:38:14 So that's going to make it interesting.

00:38:16 It will.

00:38:17 It is double points as well, of course, today.

00:38:20 It's pretty wide open for that top ten almost with the double points.

00:38:24 So Joe Clark, I saw Joe, I was walking over here and I saw Joe,

00:38:27 and he said, "Are you guys going to say some nice things about me today?"

00:38:30 And I said--

00:38:31 What?

00:38:32 Exactly.

00:38:33 That's what I said.

00:38:34 I said, "Joe, come on."

00:38:35 I said, "Occasionally maybe Brodie says some stuff that's a bit off about you,

00:38:40 but I'm a big fan."

00:38:43 And Etienne, who was sitting next to him, he's right there now, he agreed.

00:38:45 He says, "Yeah, Joe, you deserve every bit you get, mate, because you're an idiot."

00:38:52 It's all smiles there at the moment.

00:38:54 Look at that, a bit of banter between the boys.

00:38:56 I'm going to square you up.

00:38:57 Watch out.

00:38:58 I know, Etienne, there's some trash talk going on.

00:39:00 Joe's not interested.

00:39:01 He's not listening.

00:39:02 He's saying, "La, la, la, la, la, la."

00:39:04 And Etienne's just chewing his ear off.

00:39:05 I think Etienne's got that dog in him.

00:39:06 I like it.

00:39:07 Yeah, he has, hasn't he?

00:39:08 Yeah.

00:39:09 And there are the two blokes, Tim Kankler there from Slovenia

00:39:13 and Tomas Jukulovic from Croatia.

00:39:16 They don't know what's going on.

00:39:17 All they can hear is, "Yep, yep, yep," coming from the other end of the platform.

00:39:21 What's going on?

00:39:23 What are they yabbering about?

00:39:25 Etienne, he still hasn't stopped.

00:39:27 He's still talking.

00:39:28 There he is.

00:39:29 Now he's ready.

00:39:30 Now he's focused.

00:39:32 Big Joe Clark looking very serious there in the red.

00:39:35 Chappell in the green.

00:39:36 Kankler in the blue.

00:39:38 And Jukulovic in the yellow on the end of the platform.

00:39:43 Let's see if these Brits work together or they take each other on.

00:39:46 It will be interesting.

00:39:47 Yeah.

00:39:48 Well, I suppose you've got to tip your lid to seniority here.

00:39:52 And Joe Clark is the reigning world champion.

00:39:54 I'm not sure Eddie's going to care, though.

00:39:56 He's that sort of bloke, you know.

00:39:57 He'll give it to him.

00:39:59 You reckon he will?

00:40:00 I reckon he will, yeah.

00:40:01 He's going to make it for a long trip home.

00:40:03 I don't know if they're going on the train or the plane,

00:40:06 but they might have to sit at opposite ends.

00:40:08 Let's see how they go.

00:40:09 We're underway.

00:40:10 And Joe Clark immediately applies the pincer grip,

00:40:14 the pincer move on Etienne Chappell and forces him out the back.

00:40:17 Great from Kankler, though.

00:40:18 Kankler, good start.

00:40:20 Oh, Clark.

00:40:21 Look at him go, though.

00:40:22 That's a man that looks determined.

00:40:24 Chappell moves into third.

00:40:25 Jukulovic is in the fourth.

00:40:27 Clark's going to him.

00:40:28 Is he?

00:40:29 Kankler, no.

00:40:30 Look at that.

00:40:31 Kankler's saying, "I'm going to watch him."

00:40:32 He's going, "I'm just going to go wherever Joe Clark doesn't go."

00:40:35 And Clark went on the opposite side, so Kankler's still in front.

00:40:38 Clark, though, he's got him in his sights.

00:40:40 Chappell's had to do the up twice, and he's behind Chappell.

00:40:43 Way back now.

00:40:44 Look at this.

00:40:45 Clark, though, he's just--

00:40:46 Look at that.

00:40:47 He's waiting to pounce.

00:40:48 Yeah, two-horse race now.

00:40:49 He's waiting to pounce on Kankler.

00:40:50 Kankler, is he going to look over his shoulder again?

00:40:52 No, he hasn't this time.

00:40:54 I think Joe Clark knows that he's just these two.

00:40:57 Great finish from Kankler, though.

00:40:58 It was beautiful.

00:40:59 Kankler's put a nice race together, yeah.

00:41:01 It was.

00:41:03 So Kankler goes through in a canter.

00:41:07 Oh, more problems at the back, though, for Yukulovic, though.

00:41:09 He's done a bit of a twist and shout, and Chappell has moved into third position.

00:41:14 Makes no difference, though, because great race there from the man from Slovenia,

00:41:19 Tim Kankler.

00:41:22 He had a good look going into that first up-stream.

00:41:25 He did.

00:41:26 He almost waited to see which way Joe would go before he went.

00:41:28 He did.

00:41:29 Very clever.

00:41:30 He was like, "Wherever you go, Joe, I'm not going to go the other way.

00:41:32 You're not squaring me off.

00:41:33 I'm not going to go where you're going because I know what's coming my way.

00:41:37 It's like a full English breakfast coming straight at me."

00:41:41 So he decided.

00:41:44 Wonderful to see it here in the replay.

00:41:47 Big start here.

00:41:49 Kankler going one side, Clark going the other.

00:41:51 Chappell could have taken him out.

00:41:53 Just that's where Chappell decided that wasn't enough, went back.

00:41:56 Oh.

00:41:57 Yeah, I would have probably just gone.

00:41:58 I would have gone, too.

00:42:00 The judges are in a forgiving mood today.

00:42:02 I would have gone.

00:42:03 Yeah.

00:42:04 I would have gone, just had a crack and left it up to the judges.

00:42:07 I mean, we pay them a lot of money, those judges.

00:42:09 They've got to earn their keep.

00:42:15 Look at that.

00:42:16 Sportsmanship again.

00:42:17 Yeah, look at that.

00:42:18 Chappell, he's still smiling.

00:42:19 They all had a good time out there.

00:42:20 Yeah.

00:42:23 So Kankler is through.

00:42:25 Clark is through.

00:42:28 Still hasn't had the official QF come up alongside their names.

00:42:33 So maybe they're looking -- I think the first two, though, Brody,

00:42:35 looked like they had no problem at all.

00:42:37 So I think Kankler and Clark will be fine.

00:42:39 We'll just wait, though, for the judges to officially confirm that that is the

00:42:48 lineup going.

00:42:49 They're still -- what are they looking at here?

00:42:50 Let's see if we can have a sneaky look over their shoulder.

00:42:53 A lot of pointing at the screen and a lot of looking at the blokes celebrating

00:42:57 at the end.

00:42:58 I'm not sure that's going to help them.

00:43:00 But now confirmed, Kankler is through and Clark is through.

00:43:03 That is confirmed.

00:43:04 Thank you, judges.

00:43:06 Excellent work.

00:43:11 Well, there's somebody who's come straight from the Tour de France.

00:43:13 There's the pirate.

00:43:15 I forget what his name is.

00:43:16 The cyclist they call the pirate.

00:43:18 What's his name, Brody?

00:43:19 I don't know.

00:43:20 He's geared up, though.

00:43:21 I wish I could have access to our viewers because someone would be shouting at the

00:43:25 screen now telling me the name of the guy they call the pirate.

00:43:28 Infamous, is he?

00:43:29 Well, he's reasonably well-known, but obviously not that well-known that I can

00:43:32 remember his name.

00:43:33 Yeah.

00:43:34 But he's a very well-known cyclist, but not that well-known.

00:43:38 Jakub Krecki, a young man from the Czech Republic, is in the red,

00:43:43 alongside Chris Bowers from Great Britain.

00:43:46 Boris Nouveau.

00:43:47 Oh, he's angry.

00:43:48 He's got a point to prove.

00:43:49 He's not had a great weekend, Boris.

00:43:53 And so he wants to put on a bit of a show for the French fans.

00:43:57 And there's Viggo De Maris.

00:43:59 Just showing his opponents how sharp his teeth are.

00:44:01 He was up there with me in my hair.

00:44:03 He's a big unit, I didn't realize.

00:44:04 Is he?

00:44:05 Yeah, he is.

00:44:06 So wouldn't want to get in his way.

00:44:08 Did he do the exposing of the teeth to you as well to try and put you off your game?

00:44:12 Yeah, he was very scary.

00:44:14 Here we go.

00:44:16 Yeah, we're underway.

00:44:17 Now the man in blue is Boris Nouveau, the Frenchman.

00:44:21 Oh, there's a bit of argy-bargy going on there with Krecki.

00:44:24 Let's see who gets -- oh, I don't think they're all going to make it.

00:44:28 Yeah, they make it.

00:44:29 So Krecki first, Nouveau second, Kudamaricic is third.

00:44:33 And Chris Bowers at the back at the moment, though.

00:44:36 Krecki's looking back, he's like, "Oh, no, he's taken me on."

00:44:39 He's got Boris -- nobody wants to have Boris Nouveau in their corner.

00:44:41 No.

00:44:42 He almost hesitated, Krecki, there.

00:44:43 He was almost intimidated almost by Nouveau.

00:44:46 And Nouveau has gone under him.

00:44:48 Kudamaricic goes into second.

00:44:51 Krecki, he's looking a little bit disinterested.

00:44:53 Oh, and he gets a gate in the mush.

00:44:56 Yeah, Krecki's getting ready for this undertake.

00:44:58 You reckon there's a big move coming up here?

00:45:00 Let's watch the man in the red.

00:45:02 Who's he going to go for?

00:45:03 I don't think he'll go for Boris.

00:45:04 I reckon he'll go for Kudamaricic.

00:45:06 He could wear a check.

00:45:07 He's got to be good.

00:45:08 He's going to have to be a -- oh, so good.

00:45:10 Big move.

00:45:12 Meanwhile, Boris Nouveau, having stared down poor old Jakub Krecki,

00:45:17 almost scared him out of the water going down to that first gate.

00:45:21 He did, didn't he?

00:45:22 He did.

00:45:23 That was intimidating.

00:45:24 I wonder if you can get into trouble for intimidating your opponents

00:45:26 just by looking at them.

00:45:28 I don't think so.

00:45:29 I think that's all part of the game.

00:45:31 There's going to have to be a rule.

00:45:34 Can you stare down an opponent and make them feel like bad things are coming their way?

00:45:40 Wow.

00:45:41 A bit, though, clutch in that last up-stretch.

00:45:43 He nailed it, didn't he?

00:45:44 Perfect move.

00:45:45 Krecki hot on his tail.

00:45:46 Not easy to do.

00:45:48 Krecki holding his breath there as he gets into the water.

00:45:53 Wonderful scene in the replay here as he comes down to that first gate.

00:45:58 There's Boris with a couple of don't argues.

00:46:02 And no wonder, Krecki, because Boris is right in his face there.

00:46:06 And on that side of the course there, Boris using the paddle.

00:46:09 You're allowed to do that.

00:46:11 No problems there.

00:46:12 And a good move there from the Frenchman.

00:46:15 Krecki, he's just left in his wake.

00:46:20 As you said, Brodie, the big move there was from Vidkut Maricic.

00:46:24 Yeah.

00:46:25 On that last upstream.

00:46:26 The wicked upstream.

00:46:27 Here we go.

00:46:28 Look at this.

00:46:29 Watch this.

00:46:30 He's in and out of there before Krecki could even get close.

00:46:32 Yeah, and he didn't have much space.

00:46:33 No.

00:46:34 He got it done.

00:46:35 Sure that Krecki thought he would be able to take him out there, but he --

00:46:38 Yeah.

00:46:39 Maricic was gone.

00:46:41 He was done and dusted.

00:46:45 So, Boris, he's got a menacing look about him today, hasn't he?

00:46:49 He does, yeah.

00:46:50 He's out for blood.

00:46:51 Yeah, but not in a bad way.

00:46:54 Not in a bad way, of course.

00:46:56 Are we sure?

00:46:57 Well, don't bet against it.

00:47:02 Nouveau and Kudu Maricic through to the next round, through to the quarterfinals.

00:47:07 Delassus is through as well.

00:47:09 Any more Frenchmen to come for the home crowd?

00:47:12 No, Rene.

00:47:14 Well, we haven't had Delassus yet.

00:47:16 No, we haven't.

00:47:17 I think he's coming up soon.

00:47:20 Pepe.

00:47:23 Where have you been, Pepe?

00:47:24 We've missed you.

00:47:26 Pedro Goncaves from Brazil.

00:47:28 Dimitri Marx from Switzerland.

00:47:31 Andy Barrett from Comoros.

00:47:34 And Felix Oshmach from Austria.

00:47:37 Look at that, Goncaves and Marx cheek by jowl.

00:47:41 Oof, he'd be a little nervous if you were Pepe right now.

00:47:44 You've got to go back 2019, it was, when Goncaves won the overall World Cup.

00:47:51 Back in 2019.

00:47:52 Yeah.

00:47:53 He was at the top of his game then.

00:47:55 He was.

00:47:56 He was the poster boy.

00:47:58 He was, he loved it.

00:47:59 For Kaya Cross, he's dropped off the radar a little bit.

00:48:01 Yeah, I think participation skyrocketed too from there.

00:48:04 Sure has.

00:48:05 Because it became an Olympic event, it was confirmed, and everyone got on board pretty quick.

00:48:09 Mm-hmm.

00:48:10 So, Dimitri Marx, we've been banging on about it all season.

00:48:13 The Swiss have taken this sport to a whole new level.

00:48:16 They've got a difference to, oh, but he's shunted out the back.

00:48:18 Don't worry about that, though, he'll be up there.

00:48:20 There he comes.

00:48:21 So, Oshmach, who's very fast, goes out quickest.

00:48:24 And it looks like Goncaves has moved into second.

00:48:27 Marx has gone into third, but he'll pull a move here.

00:48:30 You watch this.

00:48:31 Yeah, Pepe did well to hold his ground there against Marx.

00:48:33 He was pushing really hard.

00:48:34 And, wow, they've left Marx go on the other side by himself, and he's pulled a move.

00:48:39 Oh, what's happened there to, oh my goodness.

00:48:41 Is he all right?

00:48:42 Oh, yep, he's up.

00:48:43 Yeah.

00:48:44 Who is that?

00:48:45 That's Barrett from Comoros.

00:48:46 He's put in an early escape.

00:48:47 Oh, I think there's some trouble there for Goncaves.

00:48:50 I think that gate passed on the wrong side of his head.

00:48:52 Did it?

00:48:53 Because I was about to say, he's in trouble.

00:48:54 Marx is in trouble, sorry.

00:48:55 No, no, I think.

00:48:56 He's got a lot of power back here.

00:48:57 Yeah, but I think Goncaves might have saved him, because I reckon that gate passed on

00:49:00 the wrong side of his head.

00:49:02 Oh, it's still going to be a good race, though.

00:49:04 Look at Marx.

00:49:05 He doesn't know.

00:49:06 He doesn't know.

00:49:07 Watch this finish here by the Brazilian and the Swiss.

00:49:11 Now, at this stage, Marx.

00:49:13 Look at Marx here.

00:49:14 Look at Marx here.

00:49:15 Oh.

00:49:16 Oh.

00:49:17 What are they going to call?

00:49:18 Oh, Goncaves says, you've done my shoulder, bro.

00:49:22 That was tight.

00:49:23 Tight finish.

00:49:24 Oh, what's happened there?

00:49:25 He pushed him into the barricade.

00:49:29 It was a great chase, though, from Marx.

00:49:31 That was good for him.

00:49:32 It was a great chase.

00:49:33 I'd love to see that last little sprint.

00:49:39 He copped a hip and shoulder from a big man in Marx.

00:49:41 I think he got a hip and shoulder.

00:49:43 It's about a 25 kilo weight difference.

00:49:45 I reckon there was a problem earlier on for Goncaves.

00:49:48 I'd like to see that.

00:49:49 I missed that one.

00:49:50 There's Komarov.

00:49:51 He had a problem on that first gate.

00:49:52 He didn't go the right side of that.

00:49:53 So he definitely, Andy Barrett, definitely out.

00:49:57 Look at that.

00:49:58 Not even close.

00:49:59 Sorry, Andy.

00:50:00 You're gone.

00:50:02 Felix Oshmatz, by the way, put on a clinic.

00:50:06 He did.

00:50:07 Goncaves was fine there, but I reckon the next gate he might have some trouble.

00:50:11 If we see it on the replay, let's have a look, see if our eagle eye in the soundproof booth has spotted it.

00:50:19 No problems there.

00:50:20 That gate's fine.

00:50:21 But it's the -- right in the rib cage for Pepe.

00:50:27 I reckon coming down is the finish.

00:50:30 There's the finish.

00:50:31 Watch this for Marx.

00:50:33 That's okay, but he pushes him onto the --

00:50:37 I think that's fair play.

00:50:39 It's fair play?

00:50:40 Yeah, for sure.

00:50:42 Don't worry about it, Marx.

00:50:43 Don't make me feel so bad.

00:50:45 That's fine.

00:50:47 That's fine.

00:50:48 I would like to go back and have a look at that gate earlier on.

00:50:51 Also, who got the win there?

00:50:53 Felix Oshmatz.

00:50:54 Sorry, second.

00:50:55 The second spot.

00:50:57 To Marx there.

00:50:58 It must be Marx.

00:50:59 He's pipped him.

00:51:00 He got him anyway.

00:51:01 Yeah.

00:51:03 But I'm waiting to see.

00:51:04 I'd like to see that replay, that second-last -- that second-last down.

00:51:08 He called it.

00:51:09 Yep, he got it.

00:51:10 It's there.

00:51:11 He got a fault.

00:51:12 Well spotted, Ross.

00:51:13 Thank you very much.

00:51:14 Thank you very much.

00:51:15 I thought it looked to me like he'd gone the wrong side of the gate.

00:51:19 Sue Natalie there from Australia, she listens.

00:51:21 She -- like we're on -- like we haven't got a direct line, but we've got like a direct line.

00:51:26 It's like a --

00:51:27 It does seem that way, doesn't it?

00:51:28 An ESP-type thing that goes on between us Australians.

00:51:34 So Marx lives to fight another day.

00:51:36 Oh, such a good race from Marx.

00:51:37 I love that finish.

00:51:38 That was hard-fought.

00:51:41 Pepe getting the disqualification, Barrett being disqualified, and Oshmar, by the way, just having a good old time.

00:51:50 Yep.

00:51:51 Just having a good old time.

00:51:53 So we might go back now and have a look.

00:51:55 I think we're going to try and get a replay to see if it was a fault because the judges are still just waiting to confirm.

00:52:04 Here we go.

00:52:05 I reckon it was -- no, not this one.

00:52:07 This one's fine.

00:52:08 You thought it was one of the downstream.

00:52:09 Yeah, it's a downstream gate.

00:52:10 That's the problem for him.

00:52:11 That one's fine.

00:52:12 No worries there.

00:52:14 That one's clear.

00:52:15 I think the next gate is the problem for him.

00:52:19 That's the one that I think -- I don't know why he would have got a fault on that one.

00:52:24 Yeah.

00:52:25 So the gate above, I think you thought, Ross, 4-5, wasn't it?

00:52:28 That's the last upstream.

00:52:29 Yeah.

00:52:30 Anyway, they've given him a fault.

00:52:31 We haven't seen it.

00:52:34 But from what I saw, he went the wrong side.

00:52:38 The gate was swinging and he went the wrong side of the gate.

00:52:42 So that would be a fault.

00:52:46 So results confirmed.

00:52:48 Oshmarked and marks both go through from an eventful heat, Brodie.

00:52:54 Yeah, an exciting one that one was.

00:52:56 Yeah.

00:52:57 It was all happening.

00:52:58 So Martin Duguid, who has been living up to his name of late.

00:53:03 He was third at the World Championships.

00:53:05 Next to him, your friend, your colleague, Tim Anderson.

00:53:07 Oh, yeah, big Timmy Anderson.

00:53:09 This guy has a weapon at Skycross.

00:53:11 He does enjoy it, doesn't he?

00:53:12 He does, yeah.

00:53:13 Matiu Desnos from Brazil and Lukasz Roan from the Czech Republic.

00:53:16 And we're underway.

00:53:19 And look at that start there from Duguid.

00:53:22 He's got like a rocket or something underneath his boat.

00:53:27 Tim just said, "I'll hop on the back of your wave."

00:53:29 Yeah, totally along.

00:53:30 Yeah, I mean, Tim Anderson's not slow.

00:53:33 Whoa, that is an unbelievable start there from Martin Duguid.

00:53:37 Tim Anderson's coming over just to check under his boat to make sure everything's legal.

00:53:41 Whoa, almost a big hit there in Rohan, but Tim getting away clean.

00:53:45 So Martin Duguid, in true Swiss style, he has gone out and absolutely put daylight between himself

00:53:52 and Tim Anderson from Australia, Matiu Desnos.

00:53:56 Desnos will be looking to try and make some ground on Tim Anderson here.

00:53:59 He might make a move on the Australian here if he's close enough.

00:54:02 Yeah, he's going to go for it.

00:54:03 He's going to go for it.

00:54:04 He's going to try and knock Tim Anderson.

00:54:05 Too late.

00:54:06 Yeah, too late.

00:54:07 Good move, Tim Anderson.

00:54:08 Class there from Tim.

00:54:09 Well done.

00:54:10 What's happened to Lukasz Roan?

00:54:11 Where's he gone?

00:54:12 He's at the back there, so no problem at all there for Martin Duguid.

00:54:16 That was a clinic, wasn't it?

00:54:18 It was.

00:54:19 Wow, I was excited to see Rohan there too doing it for the C1 paddlers.

00:54:22 There's not many of us out there, so good effort to be there.

00:54:27 We've been talking all season about the Swiss and how they've revolutionised this sport.

00:54:31 They've really made everybody else sit up and take notice.

00:54:34 And there's Martin Duguid showing us how good they are.

00:54:38 Yeah, that team's stacked, isn't it?

00:54:40 Really, they're all so good.

00:54:42 Oh, look at that.

00:54:43 Duguid just gives one to Tim Anderson in the back of the ribs, just to say,

00:54:46 I enjoyed racing against you, Tim, but here's a little bruise for you to take into the next round.

00:54:50 Yeah, it's almost a repeat of their heat before.

00:54:53 Tim and Duguid together, first, second.

00:54:55 Yeah.

00:54:57 So look at that.

00:54:58 He'd already, by the first gate, Duguid had put daylight between himself and the rest of the field.

00:55:06 So Anderson here coming at him late, but getting a little bit of a tangle,

00:55:11 but not too much of a problem there.

00:55:14 And there's Lucas Rohan.

00:55:15 He's not sure which way to go around that gate.

00:55:19 Did he get there eventually?

00:55:20 No.

00:55:21 Gave up.

00:55:22 Did he give up or did he go back?

00:55:23 He got it eventually.

00:55:24 He got back, yeah.

00:55:25 Got it done.

00:55:26 Well done, Lucas.

00:55:28 Well done.

00:55:30 And there he is, Martin Duguid doing the pirouette there, Tim Anderson following him.

00:55:36 Lucas Rohan having trouble with that gate as well.

00:55:39 He did not enjoy those gates one bit.

00:55:44 So confirmation, no, we haven't got confirmation yet, but we'll move on to the next race.

00:55:50 I think it was a pretty clean, clean run race.

00:55:53 Have a look at this race, would you?

00:55:55 Kastrik and Delesseuse, the two young Frenchmen right alongside each other.

00:56:00 Then Martin Helsen from Slovakia and Maxim Orbiten from Belgium.

00:56:06 Far out.

00:56:08 How good is it to have a Belgian racing here today?

00:56:10 Yeah, awesome.

00:56:11 Two big French paddlers.

00:56:13 Titoin Kastrik coming off the gold medal yesterday.

00:56:15 He'll be pumped.

00:56:16 He will be pumped, but Anatoly Delesseuse, this is his big chance.

00:56:20 To get one back.

00:56:21 He's had a couple of good seasons.

00:56:24 He enjoys it, no doubt about that.

00:56:27 He has been on the podium a few times, Anatoly Delesseuse.

00:56:33 Will they work together?

00:56:36 In previous World Cups we've seen the French actually work against each other more than with each other.

00:56:42 Oh, already there.

00:56:43 Good start from Helsen.

00:56:44 Very good start.

00:56:45 Titoin getting pushed out there by his teammate, Delesseuse, pushing through to second place.

00:56:50 Kastrik sitting third at the moment and Orbiten back in fourth.

00:56:55 So the front two go to the same side.

00:56:58 Big move there from Delesseuse.

00:57:00 Classic move.

00:57:01 And the Frenchman, it's going to be close though.

00:57:04 Helsen's got out of there fast.

00:57:05 Kastrik first out from the other side, but Delesseuse is in front.

00:57:09 Listen to the crowd.

00:57:10 Oh, gate in the ribs for Kastrik.

00:57:14 Yeah, but still close enough here that anything can happen.

00:57:17 Anything can happen.

00:57:18 This is the big race.

00:57:19 Will Kastrik take out Helsen?

00:57:22 That's what I'd be doing.

00:57:23 But he hasn't.

00:57:24 He's going the other side.

00:57:25 Interesting.

00:57:26 Oh, he's nailed it.

00:57:27 Look at this.

00:57:28 Oh, what a move.

00:57:29 Look at the French.

00:57:31 He's smiling.

00:57:33 Hey, it was a bit of an out.

00:57:36 Titoin's loving it.

00:57:37 Don't get too cocky, you boys.

00:57:39 That is awesome.

00:57:40 Look at that.

00:57:41 Oh, yeah, they're enjoying themselves.

00:57:43 That is classic.

00:57:45 Well played.

00:57:46 Classic French move.

00:57:47 It was like two sides of a baguette coming together.

00:57:52 It was, wasn't it?

00:57:53 It wasn't.

00:57:54 And, you know, when it comes together nicely, it can be a beautiful combination.

00:57:57 And look at that, the French crowd there loving that.

00:58:01 Tell you what, Titoin backed himself into that last up straight, and he nailed it.

00:58:05 He really did.

00:58:06 It was lightning.

00:58:07 Well, when you think about it, it's probably the good move.

00:58:09 He probably thought, well, these two will get in each other's way.

00:58:11 Yeah, I can pin this.

00:58:13 My chance is to sneak through while they're not watching.

00:58:16 Yep.

00:58:18 And he did it.

00:58:19 Did it perfectly.

00:58:20 So, Delesseuse and Kastelik both through to the next round in classic French style,

00:58:29 actually working together, which is very unusual.

00:58:32 Yeah, it was nice to see that finish side by side.

00:58:36 So, Helsen here, but look at this move here from Delesseuse, who's, for his age,

00:58:41 he's very experienced with this.

00:58:42 That's a classic.

00:58:43 He knows what he's doing, doesn't he?

00:58:44 Yeah.

00:58:45 He's got a feel for everything.

00:58:46 Yep.

00:58:51 And there we go.

00:58:52 Now it's Helsen trying to repay the favor, but nope, no can do.

00:58:57 Delesseuse gets ahead.

00:58:58 And meanwhile, on the other side of the course, Titoin Kastelik was pulling a classic gate maneuver

00:59:06 to move into the lead.

00:59:09 There we go.

00:59:10 And look at them, the two Frenchmen.

00:59:12 No time for laughter, boys.

00:59:14 A lot of work still to be done.

00:59:16 Having a good time.

00:59:17 They're enjoying it.

00:59:18 Titoin enjoying it so much he nearly fell over.

00:59:24 But that's great to see, and the crowd loved it as well.

00:59:27 The crowd loved it.

00:59:28 So, all three Frenchmen are going to go through, because Boris has already gone through.

00:59:36 And now Kastelik and Delesseuse also through to the next round.

00:59:40 Good stuff.

00:59:44 All right.

00:59:45 Now, here we go.

00:59:46 Finn the Butcher is in the red bib.

00:59:50 Mikael Trave is in the green bib.

00:59:53 Manuel Munch, another of the Swiss paddlers, is in the blue bib.

00:59:58 And Erik Holmer from Sweden in the yellow bib.

01:00:00 Holmer's been a bit of a revelation this year.

01:00:03 He's had a couple of very good World Cups.

01:00:07 They've been very strong.

01:00:08 Another strong beat, which is ultra-consistent, very fast.

01:00:11 Look at him go.

01:00:13 Look at him go.

01:00:14 There's a -- oh, what's happening there?

01:00:17 Manuel Munch has been thrown out the back.

01:00:19 Well, he tried to tate-a-tate with Finn the Butcher, and nobody does that unless you want to have a bit of a "how's your father" out the back.

01:00:27 But Finn Butcher --

01:00:30 Wins that tussle.

01:00:31 Yep.

01:00:32 He's very good at these arms.

01:00:33 Oh, what's happening there?

01:00:35 I don't think so.

01:00:36 Yes, and look at the move from Trave.

01:00:38 The Spaniard gets there.

01:00:40 Oh, but he's -- what's he doing?

01:00:41 He hasn't done the upper, I think.

01:00:43 He's having two cracks.

01:00:44 I thought he was fine.

01:00:45 Yeah, I think he must have missed that one.

01:00:47 He must have done it.

01:00:48 Okay.

01:00:49 He missed it, apparently, but Erik Holmer has moved into the front.

01:00:51 Oh, he's been the beneficiary.

01:00:53 This is very close still at the front.

01:00:55 Butcher second and Munch third.

01:00:58 So a really big race here.

01:01:00 Oh, my goodness.

01:01:02 What's the move here, Finn Butcher?

01:01:03 Butcher goes bang.

01:01:05 Absolutely smashes Holmer.

01:01:07 And moves into second.

01:01:09 I think Munch somehow has moved into the lead.

01:01:13 Yeah, he had that last upstream to himself, made the most of it.

01:01:16 And Butcher goes into second.

01:01:18 That was a great move from Butcher in the last upstream.

01:01:21 It really, really was.

01:01:22 Got to see a repeat of that.

01:01:23 Erik Holmer misses out.

01:01:26 But Manuel Munch, who got shunted out the back early by Finn Butcher,

01:01:31 coming back to take the lead.

01:01:35 And the move, though, was Mikhail Trave, who --

01:01:39 I'm not sure where he was going.

01:01:40 He was like, "That's a very strange approach."

01:01:42 He missed one gate, so he decided to go across the other side and try the other one.

01:01:46 Didn't like the look of that one.

01:01:47 It was a fakey.

01:01:48 It was.

01:01:49 I thought he was okay, but let's have a look.

01:01:51 So Butcher's okay.

01:01:53 Boom.

01:01:54 He's fine.

01:01:55 Yep, that's fine.

01:01:57 Oh, yeah.

01:01:58 Trave never gets it.

01:01:59 No, he didn't.

01:02:00 He didn't get it.

01:02:02 Now watch Butcher here on Erik.

01:02:04 Holmer's gone a little bit.

01:02:06 He's overcommitted.

01:02:08 And Butcher's pulled the big move.

01:02:10 That's what you can never get one early on, because the Butchers are always up early.

01:02:15 So good.

01:02:16 And he got in there.

01:02:18 Erik Holmer has got a face full of water, and Butcher has snuck under him.

01:02:23 He's well-practiced, Butcher, at this game.

01:02:25 Look at that.

01:02:26 He doesn't mind flattening the nose against the gate.

01:02:28 Yeah, he's done that a few times.

01:02:30 Yep.

01:02:31 Erik can't believe it.

01:02:33 He's a first.

01:02:34 He cannot believe this.

01:02:36 Meanwhile, Manuel Munch.

01:02:38 Ooh.

01:02:39 Yeah, that's okay.

01:02:42 That's all right.

01:02:44 So Munch and Butcher.

01:02:47 Yep, another Swiss paddler as well, progressing.

01:02:50 Another Swiss paddler.

01:02:52 And Mikhail Trave just explaining to his sports staff why he went around two gates.

01:02:57 Why he changed sides.

01:02:59 It was a new move there.

01:03:00 I don't know whether that one will catch on.

01:03:02 It was a pretty good surf across.

01:03:04 It was pretty rapid, but just a little far back.

01:03:08 Yep.

01:03:10 Look at Erik Loken there with the white hat on.

01:03:12 I told him that quite often we get pictures of the commentary box, of the judges' box, from behind,

01:03:17 so we see the back of your head.

01:03:19 So ever since then, he's started wearing a hat.

01:03:23 Poor bloke.

01:03:24 I don't know.

01:03:25 What are you doing, Erik?

01:03:26 Just be proud.

01:03:27 Show us those flowing locks.

01:03:31 So there we go.

01:03:32 Munch and Butcher.

01:03:33 That is confirmed.

01:03:34 Let's move on to heat number seven.

01:03:38 Whoa.

01:03:40 Vit Prindis.

01:03:42 Legend.

01:03:44 Czech legend.

01:03:47 Overall World Cup champion from 2021.

01:03:51 Mario Leitner from Austria.

01:03:54 Right next to him.

01:03:56 Then Jan Rohrer from Switzerland, currently sitting second in the overall standings for 2023.

01:04:05 And the Swiss, my goodness, what can we say about the Swiss?

01:04:08 That hasn't already been said.

01:04:09 And there's Johnny Dixon.

01:04:11 What a day he had yesterday.

01:04:13 He did, yeah.

01:04:14 Tying for silver.

01:04:15 He must be on a high.

01:04:16 He must be on a high.

01:04:18 I think his first senior World Cup medal, so yeah, he's having a good weekend.

01:04:23 And we're underway.

01:04:25 Let's see how we go.

01:04:26 We know that the Swiss are good.

01:04:27 We know that Vit Prindis is good.

01:04:29 And it's the man in red, Prindis, who flew out of the blocks.

01:04:34 Chasing him down, though, is Leitner.

01:04:36 Look at Rohrer go.

01:04:37 He's got a bit of work to do, but you know that he'll pull a couple of moves.

01:04:42 Oh, Vit Prindis, though, he's got some speed.

01:04:44 Look at that gap he's got.

01:04:45 Huge.

01:04:46 He's going to be done and dusted by the time they even get down that slope.

01:04:49 Oh, what's happening here?

01:04:51 Leitner's got some trouble, and Rohrer moves under him.

01:04:54 Rohrer showing his class there.

01:04:55 Oh, it's a good race for second because Dixon's there as well.

01:04:58 So Rohrer and Dixon.

01:04:59 Oh, Johnny Dixon, are you okay there?

01:05:01 He's done well there to get that gap.

01:05:03 Look at this, side by side.

01:05:05 This is classic.

01:05:06 This is time.

01:05:07 Wow, what?

01:05:08 That is beautiful to watch.

01:05:09 It's like synchronized swimming, but in a bloody kayak.

01:05:13 Where are they?

01:05:14 What's happening?

01:05:15 Oh, it's going to be close.

01:05:16 Dixon's getting the up to himself.

01:05:17 That's going to help him.

01:05:18 Oh, and Rohrer and Leitner.

01:05:21 Big race here.

01:05:22 I think Rohrer might be out.

01:05:24 I think Dixon is going to be a close finish, but I think Johnny Dixon may have caught under Jan Rohrer here.

01:05:32 Dixon with a bit of luck there because Leitner went to Rohrer, slowed him up.

01:05:36 They were neck and neck.

01:05:37 Yeah, Leitner did him a big favor, didn't he?

01:05:39 Yep, he did.

01:05:41 So that's the headline story so far besides the earlier action with paddles in faces and stuff like that.

01:05:47 Jan Rohrer, out.

01:05:50 Yes, so probably won't take that overall World Cup.

01:05:53 Well, it will be hard for him to do so, you would think, because Joe Clark got through to the next round.

01:05:58 Yep, marks through.

01:06:00 Gee, Witt Brindis was fast, wasn't he?

01:06:02 Look at that.

01:06:03 He's done and dusted.

01:06:04 He's on his way to the next gate.

01:06:05 I think all that fighting behind him helped him, but man, yeah, he was real quick.

01:06:09 Splash cam.

01:06:10 Bit of splash cam there going on.

01:06:15 But Witt Brindis, I reckon, I think we mentioned it yesterday, Brodie, I think he's got his sights on winning a quota in the kayak cross and getting to his first Olympics.

01:06:28 That would be a great story.

01:06:30 Yeah, here's where the problem was because Leitner took out Rohrer, just getting in his way there, slowing him down.

01:06:36 And while that was happening on the other side of the course, Johnny Dixon got the job done.

01:06:43 Yep, Dixon had to be good though, and he was.

01:06:46 He nailed that last upstream.

01:06:48 Witt Brindis, look at that.

01:06:52 Yes.

01:06:53 Bit of acknowledgement there of the class for Witt Brindis.

01:07:00 I'm excited for that fight next year, for those last few Olympics.

01:07:03 Oh, how good is it going to be?

01:07:05 You might be amongst it, mate.

01:07:07 I might be.

01:07:08 You might be.

01:07:09 I might have to have a crack.

01:07:10 You going to bring your A game or not?

01:07:11 Do some practice this summer.

01:07:13 I think a lot of people will be doing some practice.

01:07:16 Yep.

01:07:17 Just go out in the backyard and just smack people around with a paddle.

01:07:21 Just keep your hands on it, no matter what you do.

01:07:24 Yep.

01:07:25 David Laurenti from Spain, Giovanni DeGenero from Italy.

01:07:30 And then next to him, Tadeusz Kuschnow from Poland.

01:07:35 I haven't seen a lot of Tadeusz.

01:07:37 Young man, 21 years of age.

01:07:39 Yeah, he has a new face, hasn't he?

01:07:42 He is.

01:07:43 What an exciting time for him to sit next to the legend of Giovanni DeGenero.

01:07:47 Yeah.

01:07:48 And then Isaac Ostrom from Sweden in the blue.

01:07:52 So David Laurenti, Giovanni DeGenero, Giovanni DeGenero, of course.

01:07:59 No stranger to this, he's sitting top ten at the moment, I think, in the overall standings.

01:08:05 Way down in number nine, though, but he's had a couple of good world cups this year.

01:08:09 Yep.

01:08:10 Watch Laurenti.

01:08:11 He's got a good sprint on him.

01:08:12 Look at that.

01:08:13 Big, strong guy.

01:08:14 Oh, he's hurt himself there.

01:08:15 Oh, he has.

01:08:16 What's he done?

01:08:17 What's he done?

01:08:18 There was a grimace.

01:08:19 He does not look happy.

01:08:21 Oh, what's he done?

01:08:23 He's back, is it?

01:08:25 David Laurenti does not look happy.

01:08:27 We'll get a look at that in the replay.

01:08:29 But in the meantime, Isaac Ostrom goes around first.

01:08:33 Oh, gone to one side.

01:08:35 Boys, boys, come on, use your brains.

01:08:37 Oh, no.

01:08:38 Use your brains, boys, come on.

01:08:40 Oh, we're doing another classic across.

01:08:42 He hasn't done it, so he's...

01:08:44 It's a messy, messy race.

01:08:46 What a messy race.

01:08:47 Kuchno is second.

01:08:49 I know, Kuchno is in...

01:08:50 No, Ostrom's in front.

01:08:52 Kuchno is second.

01:08:53 DeGenero's coming here, though.

01:08:54 He's getting back in.

01:08:55 He is.

01:08:56 Contention for second place here.

01:08:57 The race is on.

01:08:58 Oh, come on, get around now, Isaac.

01:09:00 Got there eventually.

01:09:01 Now, where are the rest of them?

01:09:02 Giovanni's going to take him out.

01:09:03 Watch this.

01:09:04 Oh, no.

01:09:05 Nice move from the youngster.

01:09:06 Oh, Giovanni.

01:09:08 Well done.

01:09:09 Giovanni's given it up.

01:09:10 He's thought, "This is not much fun.

01:09:12 I just hope they're not watching this on TV."

01:09:14 So...

01:09:16 Ah, Isaac Ostrom first, Kuchno second.

01:09:19 Kuchno's celebrating.

01:09:20 He had to go to the record charge.

01:09:21 He was in my heat, actually.

01:09:22 Was he?

01:09:23 Yeah, well raced.

01:09:24 He's pretty happy.

01:09:25 Yeah.

01:09:26 He's pretty happy to be knocking off those two big guns.

01:09:29 But early on, David Lorente, he got out really quick.

01:09:34 He's got an asterisk next to Kuchno here.

01:09:36 That may be in relation to David Lorente.

01:09:39 There's David Lorente there.

01:09:41 He's come out of the water.

01:09:43 What's he done there?

01:09:44 It's his shoulder, I think.

01:09:46 It looks like it might be a shoulder injury.

01:09:48 Well, luckily it's at the end of the season, not the start of the season.

01:09:52 Hmm.

01:09:54 Let's have a look here.

01:09:55 Let's have a look.

01:09:56 Was it something at the start?

01:09:57 So all good there.

01:10:00 No problems.

01:10:01 Now, obviously, there's nothing wrong with his shoulder here because he is going great.

01:10:05 Oh, there he goes.

01:10:06 What's happened?

01:10:07 It's just something with his paddle, I think.

01:10:09 Yeah.

01:10:11 He's hit and stretched his shoulder or something there.

01:10:14 Let's see if we can see it here.

01:10:15 So all good there.

01:10:16 Now, here it is.

01:10:17 It's this stroke here, I think.

01:10:20 Oh.

01:10:23 Yeah, maybe.

01:10:24 I don't know what it is.

01:10:25 Brody, can you tell?

01:10:27 I think, yeah, I don't think it's a contact thing.

01:10:29 I think it's a stretch of a muscle or something.

01:10:35 Yeah, hopefully he's okay.

01:10:37 No, it's not too bad.

01:10:39 What's happening here?

01:10:40 Did Kushner get around this gate?

01:10:41 Is this the problem gate for Kushner?

01:10:43 Not going to see that, but no problems at all for Årström.

01:10:49 The Swede, big Swede, he's through.

01:10:54 I'm not sure what this inquiry on Kushner was.

01:10:56 I didn't see anything too questionable, but we might have missed it.

01:11:01 And in fairness, we missed a lot of their race because they were so far back.

01:11:05 True, yeah.

01:11:06 I mean, they were way back up the top still, mucking around with that gate.

01:11:10 Just all three of them went to one side.

01:11:12 It was quite bizarre.

01:11:17 Leaving Isaac Årström to his own devices

01:11:22 and moving safely into the next round.

01:11:25 But still waiting, no biggie, Asterix has just been removed.

01:11:28 So great news for the young man from Poland, Tadeusz Kushner.

01:11:35 He's probably telling all his friends and family at the moment

01:11:37 that he got to race alongside Brodie Crawford in the repercharge.

01:11:41 What a great thrill it was for him.

01:11:43 What a climb to fame that is.

01:11:44 Yeah.

01:11:45 He would have gone to school on you.

01:11:47 Made his season.

01:11:48 Go to school on your style and you would have thought this is how you do it.

01:11:55 But he did well.

01:12:00 So that brings to an end the heats for the men.

01:12:08 And we'll just wait for confirmation, Brodie, for the lineups for the quarterfinals.

01:12:12 I think we're going to have a couple of very interesting quarterfinal lineups.

01:12:15 I think we're going to -- okay.

01:12:19 We're going to take a break because they're still working out.

01:12:21 They're still crunching the numbers working out the lineups.

01:12:23 We're going to take a short break and we'll be back in -- there's Yuri Priskovic.

01:12:27 Why aren't you on the water, Yuri?

01:12:29 We'll be back very soon.

01:12:31 Join us then.

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Kayak Cross: Heats / 2023 ICF Canoe-Kayak Slalom World Cup Vaires Sur Marne Paris France

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