On the second competition day of the I Feel Slovenia Canoe Slalom Cup Tacen 2025, which counted as ECA Open Canoe Slalom European Cup event and ICF Canoe Slalom World Ranking race, Slovenia celebrated two more victories – Peter Kauzer was the best in men’s kayak and Benjamin Savšek in men’s canoe.

Slovenia’s most decorated canoe slalom athletes, Olympic medallists from Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, Peter Kauzer and Benjamin Savšek, triumphed in Sunday’s finals of the strong international I Feel Slovenia Canoe Slalom Cup Tacen 2025. Kauzer won the men’s kayak final with a time of 85.48, finishing 0.84 seconds ahead of paddler from Celje Jan Ločnikar. The young paddler incurred a touch penalty, as well as third-placed Ulan Valant who also had two penalty seconds and trailed the winner by three seconds. Three other Slovenian kayakers also competed in the final: Domen Bregar finished eighth, Žiga Lin Hočevar ninth, and Tin Kos twelfth. Žiga Lin Hočevar posted the fastest raw time, but 52 penalty seconds cost him the win.

The canoe final also brought a Slovenian sweep of the podium, much like last year’s European Championships in Tacen, albeit with a different order. This time, Benjamin Savšek, Olympic champion from Tokyo, took the win, beating Luka Božič by 0.19 seconds. Despite four penalty seconds, Žiga Lin Hočevar claimed third place, finishing just over five and a half seconds behind Savšek. Slovak Matej Benuš, Olympic medallist from Rio and Paris, finished fourth, while another Slovenian, Juš Javornik, placed seventh.

In the women’s canoe final, Alja Kozorog was the top-placed Slovenian, finishing fifth with four penalty seconds. Right behind her was Lea Novak, who showed speed but collected five touches and ten penalty seconds, costing her a podium spot. Naja Pinterič finished seventh, Sara Belingar eighth, and Saturday’s winner Eva Alina Hočevar ended up ninth after incurring 52 penalty seconds. The event was won by the Netherlands’ Lena Teunissen, followed by Italy’s Marta Bertoncelli and France’s Doriane Delassus.

Slovenian women struggled in the kayak final, as all Slovenian finalists received at least 50 penalty seconds, eliminating their chances for top placements. Ajda Novak finished ninth, Lea Novak tenth, and Eva Alina Hočevar eleventh. Italy dominated the podium with Stefanie Horn (also Saturday’s winner), Chiara Sabattini, and Francesca Malaguti.

As with Saturday, Sunday’s heats runs also served as selection races for the Slovenian national team. In men’s canoe, the pre-selected trio of Luka Božič, Benjamin Savšek, and Žiga Lin Hočevar again led the way. Juš Javornik was the next best Slovenian canoeist. In men’s kayak, Peter Kauzer already secured his spot on the team, while this selection race favoured Jan Ločnikar and Žiga Lin Hočevar, who finished ahead of Kauzer. Behind Kauzer were Valant, Domen Bregar, and Tin Kos. In women’s canoe, Eva Alina Hočevar, Alja Kozorog, and Lea Novak were again the top three. Lea Novak won Sunday’s women’s kayak selection race, followed by Eva Alina Hočevar and Ajda Novak.

The third and fourth selection races for the senior Slovenian national team will take place next weekend, when the country’s top slalom paddlers will compete for team spots on the Dora Baltea River in Ivrea, Italy.

LIVESTREAM – I FEEL SLOVENIA CANOE SLALOM CUP TACEN 2025:
https://www.youtube.com/kajakzveza and https://www.youtube.com/CanoeEurope

RESULTS:
https://www.timing-mojstrana.com/

Drugi tekmovalni dan I Feel Slovenia pokala v slalomu na divjih vodah v tacenskem kajakaškem centru, ki je štel kot tekma evropskega pokala in tekma za točke svetovne jakostne lestvice ICF, je znova prinesel dve slovenski zmagi, in sicer Petra Kauzerja med kajakaši ter Benjamina Savška med kanuisti.

Najtrofejnejša slovenska slalomista na divjih vodah, nosilca olimpijskih kolajn iz Ria de Janeira in Tokia, Peter Kauzer in Benjamin Savšek, sta bila najboljša v nedeljskem finalu močne mednarodne tekme I Feel Slovenia pokala v slalomu na divjih vodah. Kauzer je v finalu kajakašev zmagal s časom 85.48 in za 84 stotink sekunde prehitel drugouvrščenega Celjana Jana Ločnikarja. Slednji je imel dotik, dve kazenski sekundi pa je imel tudi tretjeuvrščeni Ulan Valant, ki je za zmagovalcem zaostal za tri sekunde. V finalu so veslali še trije slovenski kajakaši. Domen Bregar je bil osmi, Žiga Lin Hočevar deveti, Tin Kos pa 12. Na progi je bil sicer najhitrejši Žiga Lin Hočevar, a mu je zmago odneslo 52 kazenskih sekund.

Tudi v konkurenci kanuistov smo videli trojno slovensko zmagoslavje, tako kot na lanskem domačem evropskem prvenstvu, le da je bil tokrat vrstni red uvrstitev obrnjen. Zmage se je namreč veselil olimpijski prvak iz Tokia Benjamin Savšek, ki je bil v cilju 19 stotink hitrejši od Luke Božiča, Žiga Lin Hočevar pa se je kljub štirim kazenskim sekundam uvrstil na tretje mesto. Za tekmovalcem tacenskega kluba je zaostal za nekaj več kot pet sekund in pol. Četrti je bil nosilec olimpijskih kolajn iz Ria in Pariza Slovak Matej Benuš, v finalu pa je veslal še en Slovenec, in sicer Juš Javornik, ki je zasedel končno sedmo mesto.

V finalu kanuistk je za najvišjo slovensko uvrstitev poskrbela Alja Kozorog, ki je s štirimi kazenskimi sekundami priveslala na peto mesto. Mesto za njo je bila Lea Novak, ki je bila sicer hitra, a ji je zmagovalni oder odneslo kar pet dotikov in posledičnih deset kazenskih sekund. Naja Pinterič je bila sedma, Sara Belingar osma, zmagovalka sobotne preizkušnje Eva Alina Hočevar pa je z 52 kazenskimi sekundami tekmo končala na devetem mestu. Zmagala je Nizozemka Lena Teunissen, druga je bila Italijanka Marta Bertoncelli, tretja pa Francozinja Doriane Delassus.

Slovenkam se je zalomilo tudi v kajakaškem finalu, kjer so prav vse slovenske finalistke prejele vsaj 50 kazenskih sekund, kar jim je odneslo možnosti za naskok na vrh. Ajda Novak je bila deveta, Lea Novak deseta, Eva Alina Hočevar pa enajsta. Za trojno italijansko zmago so poskrbele Stefanie Horn, ki je bila najboljša že v soboto, Chiara Sabattini in Francesca Malaguti.

Tako kot v soboto je tudi nedeljska kvalifikacijska vožnja štela kot izbirna tekma za sestavo slovenske reprezentance. V kanuju so bili znova najboljši že preselekcionirani tekmovalci Luka Božič, Benjamin Savšek in Žiga Lin Hočevar, ki so si mesto v ekipi zagotovili že z lanskimi uspehi. Naslednji najboljši med slovenskimi kanuisti je bil Juš Javornik. V moškem kajaku ima mesto v ekipi že zagotovljeno Peter Kauzer, tokratna izbirna tekma pa je najbolje uspela Janu Ločnikarju in Žigi Linu Hočevarju, ki sta se uvrstila pred Hrastničana. Za Kauzerjem so se zvrstili Ulan Valant, Domen Bregar in Tin Kos. V ženskem kanuju so bile znova najboljše Eva Alina Hočevar, Alja Kozorog in Lea Novak. Slednja je bila najboljša na nedeljski izbirni tekmi kajakašic, za njo pa sta se zvrstili Eva Alina Hočevar in Ajda Novak.

Tretja in četrta izbirna tekma za sestavo slovenske članske reprezentance sledita konec prihodnjega tedna, ko se bodo slalomisti in slalomistke na divjih vodah za mesta v ekipi borili na reki Dora Baltea v italijanski Ivrei.

SPLETNI PRENOS – I FEEL SLOVENIA CANOE SLALOM CUP TACEN 2025: https://www.youtube.com/kajakzveza in https://www.youtube.com/CanoeEurope

REZULTATI:  https://www.timing-mojstrana.com/

This weekend, the Sava River hosts a major international competition, the I Feel Slovenia Canoe Slalom Cup Tacen 2025, which also counts as a 2025 ECA Open Canoe Slalom European Cup race and ICF Canoe Slalom World Ranking race. On Saturday, the canoe events saw victories for Slovenian athletes Eva Alina and Žiga Lin Hočevar, while the kayak wins went to Italy.

The I Feel Slovenia Canoe Slalom Cup Tacen 2025 brought two victories for young Slovenian national team members. Eva Alina Hočevar claimed the win in the women’s canoe final, posting a time of 95.20 seconds and beating Italy’s Marta Bertoncelli by 1.57 seconds. French paddler Doriane Delassus finished third, almost three seconds behind Eva Alina. Six other Slovenian athletes competed in the final: Alja Kozorog narrowly missed the podium in fourth, followed by Lea Novak in fifth, Sara Belingar in seventh, Ema Lampič in eighth, and Lea Senica in ninth.

In the last final of the day, Žiga Lin Hočevar secured a dominant win in the men’s canoe final, finishing 2.79 seconds ahead of Tokyo Olympic champion Benjamin Savšek. Croatian paddler Matija Marinić, who often trains on the Tacen course, came third. Luka Božič, after a touch and two penalty seconds, placed sixth, and Juš Javornik also had a touch and finished seventh.

Eva Alina Hočevar also stood on the podium in the women’s kayak event, finishing third. She was beaten by two Italian competitors: Stefanie Horn, the 2017 European silver medallist in Tacen, and Francesca Malaguti. Eva Alina was less than four seconds off the winning time. Sara Belingar also competed in the final and took sixth place.

Another Slovenian third place came from Solkan native Tine Kancler, who finished behind two Italian athletes in the men’s kayak final. He crossed the finish line a little over three seconds behind the winner. The victory went to young Xabier Ferrazzi, the son of an Olympic champion from Barcelona and a former top-level Spanish kayaker. Reigning Olympic and European champion Giovanni de Gennaro came second. Peter Kauzer finished fourth.

The competition weekend in the Kayak Centre Tacen carries extra weight for Slovenian athletes, as Saturday’s and Sunday’s heats runs also count as the first selection races for the national team. The third and fourth selection races will take place next weekend in Ivrea, Italy.

In the first national team selection race, Eva Alina Hočevar was the top Slovenian in the women’s canoe event, followed by Alja Kozorog, Lea Novak, Sara Belingar, and Ema Lampič. In the men’s kayak, Žiga Lin Hočevar led the selection standings, followed by Martin Srabotnik and Peter Kauzer, who is already on the team due to last season’s results. They were trailed by Lan Tominc, Ulan Valant, and Jan Ločnikar. Eva Alina Hočevar also led the women’s kayak rankings, ahead of Ajda Novak, Lea Novak, Sara Belingar, and Ula Skok. In the men’s canoe category, the top three were Benjamin Savšek, Žiga Lin Hočevar, and Luka Božič – all already secured spots on the national team – followed by Juš Javornik.

LIVE STREAM – I FEEL SLOVENIA CANOE SLALOM CUP TACEN 2025:
https://www.youtube.com/kajakzveza
https://www.youtube.com/CanoeEurope

RESULTS:
https://www.timing-mojstrana.com