Spanish canoe slalom paddler Miquel Trave was the first name of Saturday's part of the ECA Open Canoe Slalom European Cup, held in La Seu d’Urgell. The second event of the Pyrenees Cup, which also counted as the ICF Canoe Slalom World Ranking race, took place at the 1992 Olympic venue. Home competitor Trave claimed victory in both the kayak and canoe events.
At the second event of the 2025 ECA Open Canoe Slalom European Cup season, Spanish national team members and paddlers from the local Cadi club dominated the competition. The 25-year-old Miquel Trave secured a double victory, delivering flawless and fastest final runs in both the canoe and kayak events. His kayak win was particularly close, as Swiss athlete Martin Dougoud finished just seven hundredths of a second behind him, while young Italian Xabier Ferrazzi took third place.
In the canoe final, Trave secured a 2.63-second lead over fellow Spaniard Luis Fernandez, while Slovenian Luka Božič claimed third place. Božič has fond memories of the Segre River, as it was here in 2009 that he won his first senior World Championships medal.
The women’s canoe final also saw a victory for a Cadi club member, Monica Doria, who competes under the Andorran flag. She completed the course in 90.88 seconds, finishing 2.63 seconds ahead of Klara Olazabal and 4.54 seconds ahead of Miren Lazkano, both from Spain.
Multiple Olympic medallist Maialen Chourraut (ESP) was the fastest in the women’s kayak final, where she was joined on the podium by Poland’s Dominika Brzeska and Andorran competitor Monica Doria.
The competition in La Seu d’Urgell was the second race in the Pyrenees Cup series. The previous weekend’s competition took place in Pau, France, and the overall winners were Saturday’s top performers in Spain. In the women’s kayak event, Maialen Chourraut took the overall win ahead of Monica Doria (AND) and Slovenia’s Eva Alina Hocevar. In the women’s canoe event, Monica Doria triumphed, with Klara Olazabal (ESP) in second and Eva Alina Hocevar (SLO) securing third place once again. In both men’s events, Spain’s Miquel Trave emerged as the overall winner. In kayak, he was followed by Swiss athlete Martin Dougoud and Italy’s Xabier Ferrazzi, while in canoe, Canadian Alex Baldoni finished second and Slovenian Jus Javornik took third.
On Sunday, the ECA Open Canoe Slalom European Cup and ICF Canoe Slalom World Ranking race continue with the kayak cross competitions as part of the Pyrenees Cup.
PHOTO: Canoe La Seu
15.3.2025
