Athlete's Feedback
Read what the adidas Sickline competitors had to say about their final runs and this year's competition.
Sam Sutton
"adidas Sickline is the ultimate combination of all the kayaking athletes put into one pool to see who’s the best of the best."
"I was a bit worried that I had used all my good runs before the last one. I've seen it in history; the top seeded person has always felt a lot of pressure and they've had a really great run but they haven't been able to put it back to back kind of, because it's a lot of pressure. I just tried to forget about that and I to do my own thing and yeah, I'm extremely happy with my run of course and I've been happy with my times today."
"To be honest I just think until the 'Compulsory Left' after the 'Flat Section' I'm just gonna paddle 100% full power and then as soon as I go around the rock I just think to myself 'OK Sam, take it easy - slow down a little bit'. If you don't make all of those moves perfectly then by stuffing up one it means you're gonna fail on the next and the next and the next so it's like a snowball ... so it's all about just trying to stay consistent and smooth through the whole thing."
"We can't tell you the kiwi secret of staying so consistent throughout the years! Just kidding... New Zealand has got a strong base of slalom, and the slalom paddlers like Mike Dawson they actually integrate it into white water which is quite different to other countries, so Mike is an amazing slalom paddler and an amazing white water paddler. To keep up with Mike you just try to learn from him and the other slalom guys - at least that's what I try to do."
Mike Dawson
"After getting blown out last year, I just wanted to have a good race today. Sam's in another league, he's like 2-3 seconds faster than us I think today so I'm just stoked to be in 2nd place and stoked to share podium with Sam, we couldn't ask for much more at this years Sickline."
"In New Zealand we all start with slalom when we're pretty young, but we also begin in little plastic boats which is what we're racing down Wellerbrücke, so when we train slalom it's really easy to chop and change. Like Sam said we bounce up each other a lot; we're always in New Zealand fighting to be first or second. There are a lot of good paddlers in New Zealand so it's "easy" to come here, well not easy I mean everyone else is super fast, but you kind of come here with some self-confidence and you just try to throw it down and to have Sam chasing your tail if you mess it up is always something to kind of take into the race."
"I think Wellerbrücke is a very technical rapid and you can go as hard as you can at the top, but if you take that speed into the middle 9 times out of 10 you're gonna blow chunks. Even saying that I spend most of my time in my slalom boat this year on artificial courses, all controlled, and when I came for my first run here I was scared; I was out of my element just thrashing my way down. I think this rapid earns a lot of respect and to hold a race of this caliber and these guys to be so close shows that the level of kayaking is stepping up every year which is really sick."
Michele Ramazza
"I made a very good run apart from a little mistake that took my head into the water, but I made a very good time so I’m happy. The Sickline is one of the most important races at the moment, there are so much people here, many of them my best friends and it's a really great place where everyone can push their limits."
Egor Voskoboynikov
"I'm so happy that I made it to the final, it was my main goal and I made it so I already lived up to my expectations before the last run. (I'm not sure why I didn't get a better result, but I don't care cause as I said I'm happy anyways)"
Vavrinec Hradilec
"I think my run was pretty good considering I'm not really used to creek boulder. The race was awesome and I'm really stoked that I'm here. You need a high physical condition to take part in this race, the white water is really demanding and if you make a small mistake that you need to recover it means you need to push even harder which costs a lot of energy."
Dejan Kralj
"I made a mistake at the start which made me loose quite some time, but I pushed as hard as possible and am pretty satisfied with the final result. It's difficult to find the sickline here at Wellerbrücke, this rapid has several drops, you have to push hard and you get tired. It's not just about going down, you must go fast and it's easy to make mistakes when you get tired."
Tomas Andrassy
"I'm very happy to be in the final, that was my goal for the race. At my final run I had a great start, but after that I got caught in a hole which made me lose some seconds."
Philip Gibbins
"It's a long way to come over here from Australia, I've been in Europe the last couple of months for training and my goal was to be in the final here at Sickline; sit in the hot-tub and I did that, so I'm happy. I hope to be back next year and to be able to do a bit better."
Eric Deguil
"I got to the final as a Lucky Loser and did my best line ever here at Wellerbrücke in the final despite of breaking a rib during a training session earlier this week, so I can't complain.
I had a bad year, starting off breaking my back and using a corset for three months in the beginning of the year and now this. I'll just have to make another break now."
Mira Kodada
"My final run wasn't too good, I actually think it was my worst run all day, but still. I made it to a short visit in the hot tub so I'm happy about that since I wasn't expecting I would make it."
Isaac Levinson
"I was really happy with my final run, it wasn't perfect but it was pretty good. I was really just happy to be in the final and racing with all of my friends. adidas Sickline is just an amazing event, and I think it couldn't be a much better day. Maybe if I was first, but you can't get everything you want."
Filippo Brunetti
"I'm happy to be in the final but not with my final run, I missed the last drop and did a backflip which made me lose a lot of time."
