Canoe racing: Bay duo set to take on the world

Tauranga paddlers Andrew Roy, back, and Scott Bicknell on their way to winning the K2 200 title at the national champs in Rotorua. Photo/Jaime Troughton

Western Bay paddlers Scott Bicknell and Andrew Roy will compete against the world's best at this year's two most prestigious canoe events.

Bicknell, 25, and Roy, 21, were named in the New Zealand team to contest the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup over three legs in Milan (Italy), Racice (Czech Republic) and Szeged (Hungary) in May, before the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Moscow in August.

Bicknell and Roy will compete in the K2 200 over 200 metres, which is a change for the experienced Bicknell, better known as a K2 1000 competitor.

"It is an achievement in itself to be selected because it is in a different discipline," Bicknell said. "So it is kind of good to know that all that work does pay off and if you put in the hard yards, you will get there.

"The K2 200 takes 33-34 seconds, which is a whole different ball game really. It is horrendously competitive and there is no room for error, which just makes it that much more intense. For the 1000, you have a little bit of leeway and you can pull yourself back into the game but for a 200, it can be won and lost at any stage."

Roy, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Tuesday, is the new kid in the boat and is excited to get his chance on the big stage.

"I went to the junior worlds in 2011 but this is the big one really," Roy said. "Scott and I clicked really. We have probably been together for 18 months now. We have similar feel of the boat and some people seem to fight it in the boat but we manage to just be neutral in it and relax.

"We haven't raced a lot of the top crews but hopefully we can make A finals. After that, Rio [Olympics] is definitely the goal and this is the path on the way and hopefully the start of things to come."