With double points on offer in World Cup finale many athletes are still in with a shout of victory, and with it top honours in the season’s standings.

For Benus and his Slovakian compatriots there is also a competition within the competition as they aim to better their teammates over a series of five races in bid to secure a much-coveted Slovakian Olympic team spot.

“The course is very nice here. The water is a little bit changing but I love this course,” commented Benus following his blistering quick qualification run.

“I was a little bit surprised with my time because I did nothing special. I had good water everywhere; I guess that’s why I was very fast.”

“The upstream gate 19 was tricky; there was a hole just before it, and depending on how big the hole is when you get there, you need to approach it accordingly.”

By any standards the Slovakian’s clean run was special and puts him in a strong position going into the weekend’s push for the podium.

When asked about the challenge he faces to make the Slovakian Olympic squad, Benus continued, “I am thinking about my thing. This is a normal race to me, there is nothing special to it, I am not thinking about the World Cup Final, or the Slovakian Olympic qualification. I concentrate on my routine and nothing else”.

The young Brazilian, Satila, continues to show why she is seen as one of the leading lights of the sport and was the only C1W paddler to make a clean run in the classes opening run.

“I am feeling really great, I had an amazing run, my first clean run in C1. I need this feeling for the semifinal and final. I will try to do the same, stay calm and have a clean run,” said Brazil’s number one.

“This is really funny because when I have to paddle on an easy course I touch gates and this is a difficult course and it was clean!”

“I was calm and relaxed at the start, I wanted to do easy things because it’s harder in C1 Women.”

“I like this course, my training sessions are getting better and it’s really fun.”

When asked about her brilliant season so far, she continued, “I am really happy with my season in both K1 and C1. In K1 I am reaching the semifinals with much less efforts than last season when I had to try hard for everything. In C1 I am regularly in final so I am very happy.”

In the K1M, Neveu was equally impressive as the two other class toppers with a seemingly effortless run to secure his semifinal spot.

“These kinds of runs are reassuring,” said the 29-year-old. “It’s better to be in the front of the pack than behind.”

“I like this kind of white water, although I aim at being versatile and being able to win on any course, like in La Seu last week.”

A partisan crowd followed the 2014 K1M World Champion down the course seemingly cheering each stroke the Frenchman executed.

It has not been a smooth passage to the top of the sport for the Neveu, who reflected on his journey.

“I lost confidence in 2012 and 2013. When I won the World Cup in London last season, it gave me a boost and I became aware of my real level. I felt capable to win. I used to win semifinals and end up nowhere. I also had a period during which I kept finishing second or third, but never won. So London was indeed a turning point. I thought, why not me?”

The action continues with the C1M semifinal at 9:00 CET Saturday morning.