Reigning world cup champion Frenchman Mathieu Biazizzo and top Australian Lucien Delfour are among the top international talent taking on canoe slalom's New Zealand Open near Palmerston North this weekend.
It's the start of a big week for the sport in New Zealand, with the Oceania Championships in Auckland five days later at the new Vector Wero Whitewater Park in Manukau.
Top Kiwis Luuka Jones and Mike Dawson will spearhead the local charge this week on the Mangahao River, at the Mangahao Power Station near Shannon, with Rio de Janeiro K1 silver medalist Jones again testing herself in both the K1 and C1 classes ahead of a possible double tilt at Tokyo in 2020.
Jones announced her intention to race both classes at the inaugural Whitewater XL at Vector Wero in November and performed spectacularly on limited training, although Frenchwomen Nouria Newman took out the overall WWXL title.
Jones beat Newman at the New Zealand Open last year and the pair will resume their K1 battle this weekend, with Alison Borrows (Australia) and Czech paddler Veronika Vojtová adding depth to the women's field. Vojtová won world championship gold in the K1 teams at London in 2015.
