Two rounds of kayak cross concluded the third and final day of racing at the slalom selection series held at the Lee Valley White Water Centre.
Fierce racing saw paddlers battling it out in the time-trial before going head-to-head, racing for selection points as they vie for places on the international teams for the upcoming season.
Having won race one of the Senior/U23 women's event yesterday, Nikita Setchell (Holme Pierrepont) was successful again, winning race two ahead of Lee Valley's Ellis Miller, with Amber Maslen (Independent) in third, ahead of Edinburgh Schools' Lois Leaver in fourth.
She said: “It was nice to get it done and dusted in the first two races so I can watch how the others go later on.
“It's been a good winter and it's nice to come away with two wins here. It's great to get the season going again.”
Lee Valley's Phoebe Spicer took the win in race three ahead of Lois Leaver in second with Macy Kang (Holme Pierrepont) and Ellis Miller in third and fourth respectively.
Speaking at the conclusion of the racing, Phoebe said she was really happy with how she focused on her own races throughout the race series.
“I raced well yesterday but didn't have a great run in the second race this morning so it was nice to be able to pull it round in the last one.
“I was trying to focus on each run, one at a time and not focus on the results, just doing what I can do and taking control of what I can.
“It's really good practice for the season ahead. We're lucky as a programme that we have some strong women in it and good fights in training but it's different in race environments so it's been a great experience.”
Having finished with a second place yesterday in race one, Holme Pierrepont’s Ben Haylett went one better in race two, taking an emphatic win with clear water ahead of Sam Leaver in second, Chris Bowers took third place Jonny Dickson (CR Cats) in fourth place.
He said: “It was really nice to get out of the blocks well this morning. It was such a long day yesterday and on Saturday afternoon so it was nice to get it out there this morning.
“It’s a lot of rounds, but it’s really good prep for the season. The head to head days are really heavy, especially at a championship with having the trial and head to head on the same day.
“A win in the kayak was pretty good too, as well as backing it up with a win in the kayak cross it has been great.”
In the Junior Men’s event, Jonah Hanrahan concluded his weekend of racing with a first and second place in races two and three respectively. He was really happy with the progress he has made over the weekend.
Jonah said:
“I've not always paddled my best but I've always made progress and I've felt that this weekend. It's one of the first times I've raced it really well so I'm pleased with that.
“I'm gutted with that last race, it just slipped away but we had a good battle at the end.
“I've had some good fun, I've not really been good at kayak cross before but I've finally got the hang of it I think.”
In race two he finished ahead of Scott Ritchie and Nathan Nabili of Pinkston who were second and third, with Harry Kirby of Stafford & Stone in fourth.
Gwion Williams of Llandysul Paddlers took the win in race three ahead of Jonah with Breadalbane's Oscar Wyllie in third and Thomas Arrowsmith (Holme Pierrepont) in fourth.
In the Junior Women’s event Lee Valley's Arina Kontchakov had a fantastic day on the water claiming two back to back wins in races two and three.
She beat Lee Valley teammate Darcey McMullins who was second with Sennah Humphries (Wyedean) in third and Llandysul's Sadie Sterry in fourth.
In the final race of the weekend, it was Wyedean's Sofia Alfer who took second place, with Sadie Sterry in third and Jasmine Wilde of Frome in fourth.
Arina was delighted with her racing, she said: “On Sunday afternoon I got a fault so I didn't get to go in the best lanes which was really tough. It's really tricky with the roll zone in a different place on the course to where we've been training.
“If you get a fast lane at the start you can stay out of the way, so today in the time trials I really focused on the whole run down. It's been really good to race girls from all over the country. We don't often get the chance to race against each other so having three days back to back, not just time trials, has been really inspiring to see the sport evolving in the UK.
“I've been paddling against the girls for a long time but in slalom you don't get to see each other paddle and see each other improve like you do when it's head to head.”
Kayak cross World Champion Kimberley Woods, who will represent Team GB at the Paris Olympics this summer, enjoyed her day of racing.
“Today I had a lot more fun compared to yesterday, I came back stronger ready for when the season starts.
“We've got some really good women here, and it was great to have Noemie (Fox) and Alena (Marx) here too who are really experienced too so it's all about the gains and experience with the tactics at races such as this.”
Joe Clarke, the three time Kayak Cross World Champion, was pleased with the pace he showed throughout the weekend and used the racing opportunity to practice different tactics.
“I only took one win but it was a training exercise for me. Having the international paddlers racing here meant it was important to get myself on the start line to build race experience this year ahead of Paris. We had a play around with starting lanes.
“You wouldn't choose to put yourself in certain start positions, but it’s about how you react in those circumstances and you have to be able to win from any lane so it was a great weekend for learning.
“I wouldn't necessarily do that in a major race but given this opportunity it's worth doing and I'm happy with the outcome.”