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Road to home World Champs begins for Aussie Canoe Slalom team

Paddle Australia

With 117 days to go until the ICF Slalom World Championships arrive in Sydney, the Australian Canoe Slalom team are preparing to get their 2025 international season underway in Spain, this weekend.

Olympic gold medalists, NSWIS scholarship holders Jessica and Noemie Fox headline the 10-strong team that will compete at the 2025 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup 1 in La Seu from Friday 6 June through until Sunday 8 June.

“The main objective that I have my eyes on this year is the World Championships…a home World Championships in a career is very special,” Noemie Fox, pictured, said.

“But also the World Cups this year, I’m really looking forward to challenging myself – it’s a bit of a harder schedule with just one run, straight to top 12 and into the final.

“So I think there’s a lot more challenges this year for me, but I’m excited to step up in my slalom events and to maintain my Kayak Cross world rankings and titles,” she said.

It is the first of five World Cup events, with the season set to culminate in Penrith for the 2025 ICF Slalom World Championships.

The World Cup 1 program will start with the men’s and women’s Kayak Heats and Finals on Friday, before the men’s and women’s Canoe Heats and Finals on Saturday, and wrap up with the Kayak Cross on Sunday.

Among the Australians competing this weekend is World Cup and senior national team debutant Ben Ross.

“Debuting on my first senior team is very exciting, and for me it’s all about coming into the Worlds with a performance objective, do as well as I can, but also really lapping up the experience, enjoying the opportunities that being on the senior team provides and just trying to get as much out of the experience as I can,” he said.

“I’m racing World Cups 1 and 2, in La Seu (Spain) and Pau (France), and then I’ll be taking a break for World Cup 3 for the U23 World Championships…they’re quite close to each other.

“I went to Seu and Pau for the first time last year, just for training and I was really privileged to be able to do that.

“Seu is quite unique – I’ve watched a lot of my fellow team mates race there in the past and watched a lot of races online, but never myself.

“But I feel like I’m in a good place, I’ve had a bit of training on the course but it’s a really special place in Slalom history, with the 1992 Olympics and to be able to race there will be super exciting,” Ross said.

The 2025 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup season will be broadcast LIVE on Fox Sports Australia and Kayo Sports.

2025 ICF CANOE SLALOM WORLD CUP 1

Friday 6 June