Canoeing: Transtasman clash set to thrill

Ohope's Lisa Carrington is set to race this weekend on Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake).

New Zealand's best kayakers will be up against some stiff competition from across the ditch during the Canoe Sprint National Championships in Rotorua.

A pair of world-class Australians will take part in the championships starting tomorrow on Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) and running until Sunday.

Olympic gold medallist Ken Wallace and world surf ski champion Lachlan Tame will add class to an already brimming male line-up, after racing at the event last year.

Reigning New Zealand K1 200m champion Scott Bicknell (Hawke's Bay), Tauranga's Andrew Roy and Marty McDowell (Mana) will be the main challengers to the Australian duo in the shorter distances, with Bicknell relishing the chance to measure his progress during the past 12 months.

"Without starting gates, the best way of finding out how much we've improved is to go head-to-head with these guys and to do it in our own country makes it even more special," Bicknell said.

"The Kiwi paddlers are pretty grateful to Kenny and Lachie for coming over and we aim to repay them by sending them home knowing they've had some fierce racing."

The championships, which feature 257 paddlers from 13 clubs, will also see Bicknell pairing up with Roy to race in the K2 boat.

They've raced Wallace and Tame twice already, coming within 0.16sec of the Aussies last season, while the Kiwis are also fresh from K2 victory in last month's New South Wales championships.

"Scott and I have only been paddling together in the K2 for just over a year now and to have come so close to the Aussies in our first year was a good confidence boost," said Roy, who will also race the under-23 division.

"Training has been going really well and we're continually refining things, so now we're just keen to put it all together in a race."

While Roy and Bicknell will focus on the 200m distance, Tame and Wallace will also step up to the 1000m, where McDowell, London Olympian Darryl Fitzgerald and Christchurch's Zac Quickenden will be among the local contenders, with added incentive provided by a possible New Zealand K4 boat attending European regattas later in the year.

Tame said he was looking forward to racing on Lake Tikitapu once again.

"I'm pretty excited to race there again - it was a really amazing place last year and I hope New Zealand can turn on some warm weather again for the Aussie boys," he said.

The women's division will feature an enticing clash in the K1 500m between Olympic champion Lisa Carrington and world marathon champion Teneale Hatton, with both paddlers set to race for the first time this season.