On a radiant Saturday morning we headed out to the Eiskanal for the last Euro Cup Competition of the year.
After a quite bad sprint, where we got stuck in the eddy , we were still able to finish 2nd out of the 6 participating women’s teams.
There were 2 Belgian (Waterproof) teams, 1 Dutch team (Fl’eau) and 3 German teams.
Waterproof Team 2 finished last in the sprint, but we have to say that the competition was fierce.
As we were exempt of the 1st round in the H2H race, we were able to cheer our 2nd team, that won their first battle.
Unfortunately, in the 2nd round we had to race against each other, but it did mean that a Belgian team would definitely make it to the finals.
In the finals we had to compete against a German team. It was a long battle, but after 100 meters we took the lead and we were able to paddle nicely to the finish line.
Our Waterproof 2 team won the race for 3rd place.
After a short lunch break, we had to memorize the entire sequence of slalom gates, containing 6 upstream gates and 8 downstream gates.
At the 1st run we missed one gate and hit 3 times, but we knew we could do better, so we put all our efforts into the 2nd run.
Unfortunately the run did not have a better outcome, but luckily we were able to gain 1st place on the slalom race.
After an exhausting day, we were given a well-deserved break, so we could perform again the next day.
The down river race took place on Sunday. Starting with a run to the raft, our first team immediately took the lead and finished 1st.
With our 2 Waterproof teams we definitely showed our capacities and gained a well-deserved 1st and 4th place in the rankings.
Another good performance!
Belgian ladies win European Championships Rafting 2012 title
The Belgian ladies of the Waterproof rafting team have made a stunning impression on the European Championships in the Czech Republic by winning the title.
A 5th place in the sprint, a 2nd place in the H2H, a 3rd place in the slalom and a 1st place in the downriver race have all contributed to the Waterproof Women Rafting Team winning the well-deserved European title in R4.
On top of the European title in R4, they gained 5th place in R6. These results exceed all expectations and emphasize that hard work and training really pays off.
European Championship Czech Republic 2012
Lipno nad Vltava hosted the2012 European Championships and welcomed 19 ! countries (men and women) who had to compete against each other in the following four disciplines: sprint, H2H, slalom and downriver.
On the first day of the competition, the Belgian ladies already surprised everyone in R4 by beating favorite Czech Republic in the first round of the H2H. After a few furious battles, the Belgian ladies finally gained 2nd and won their first medal. In the slalom run, R4 as well as R6 managed to pass all gates, but a few touches resulted in some penalties. Despite these penalties, R4 managed to win a bronze medal. R6 gained 5th place, finishing in just a few seconds of the teams who did won a medal.
On the final day of the competition the downriver race, a real test of technical skills, was held. The exhausting race (+/- 40 min.)became a huge success as R4 finished 1st and R6 finished 5th in just a few seconds of the 1st three teams.
All ambitions have been surpassed, the achievements and results of the Belgian women have definitely put Belgium on the map in the world of rafting.
Lipno nad Vltava hosted the2012 European Championships and welcomed 19 ! countries (men and women) who had to compete against each other in the following four disciplines: sprint, H2H, slalom and downriver.
On the first day of the competition, the Belgian ladies already surprised everyone in R4 by beating favorite Czech Republic in the first round of the H2H. After a few furious battles, the Belgian ladies finally gained 2nd and won their first medal. In the slalom run, R4 as well as R6 managed to pass all gates, but a few touches resulted in some penalties. Despite these penalties, R4 managed to win a bronze medal. R6 gained 5th place, finishing in just a few seconds of the teams who did won a medal.
On the final day of the competition the downriver race, a real test of technical skills, was held. The exhausting race (+/- 40 min.)became a huge success as R4 finished 1st and R6 finished 5th in just a few seconds of the 1st three teams.
All ambitions have been surpassed, the achievements and results of the Belgian women have definitely put Belgium on the map in the world of rafting.
Eurocup Durence
After a long night drive, we started our day with a full day training session and we tested all our new positions.
Friday was filled with sprints, battles and the downriver race of raft four
Results:
Sprint Raft 4: clear win
H2H Raft 4: lost by 16-hundredths of a second: good start, but we went up too high, made a nice come back but we were not able to win
Downriver Raft4: easy win. We were able to keep up with the men and finished after the whitewater rafting school
Sprint Raft 6: third place. By 1 second of Fl’eau and by half a second of Liquid Ladies: very tight!
H2H Raft 6: We beat the Liquid Ladies. We tightly lost to Fl’eau: we started faster, but unfortunately we could not keep up with them
Saturday: all slaloms!
Results
Raft 4: we passed all gates and touched only one: result: 1st place
Raft 6: poor 1st salom, at the 2nd run we passed 9 gates, missed one and touched a few! Tough slalom course, but we can say we displayed good rafting skills considering the entire new raft setup!
Sunday:
Results
Downriver Raft 6: The impossible takes place again: after a good start, we are heading the race, straight to the 1st place!
There you go:
Overall result Raft 4: 1st place
Overall result Raf 6: 2nd place
We are selected for the 2013 IRF Rafting World Championships in New Zealand!