After a weekend of balls-to-the-wall racing on the legendary Wellerbrücke rapids in Austria’s Ötztal valley, 25-year old Aniol Serrasolses from Bescano in Spain and 26-year old Sandra Hyslop from Loughborough, Great Britain, claimed their first adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Champion titles, ahead of Sam Sutton (NZL) and Nouria Newman (FRA) taking silver and Dane Jackson (USA) and Martina Wegman (NED) winning bronze.
While cold water and air temps cooled things down for racers, the competition was as hot as ever with perhaps the best field ever assembled for both the men’s and women’s events over the nearly 300-yard-long course.
Lower water levels also affected times and lines, meaning precision was vital. Get off line for a second and your race time paid.
Over the event’s two days, the original field of 175 paddlers from 29 countries was narrowed down to 16 athletes for the men’s final and five for the women’s.
In the end, it was Serrasolses and Hyslop earning the title and coveted spot in the winners’ hot tub afterward.