This year the Oetz Valley, in Austria, welcomed kayakers from all around the world for a new race down the famous Wellerbrucke: the Oetz Trophy. During a two-day event, 180 competitors – 150 men and 30 women – fought for the Extreme World Champion titles.
The week before: training
Many athletes travelled to Oetz well before the event to train on the Wellerbrucke. Apart from getting familiar with the lines, arriving early was a great way to discover the area and enjoy some local food (Kaiserschmarrn has to be one of my new favourite desserts). Oetz is a beautiful village in the middle of the mountains, with plenty to do in between sessions. The cable cars can bring you all the way to the top of the mountain to appreciate the Alps from above. The AquaDome is also a must for kayakers to relax in the hot outdoor pools with a few cocktails after a long day on the river. With some heavy rainfall and snowmelt a few days before the event, we also got to enjoy other sections of the river, such as the Lower and Upper Oetz, and the Venter.
Day one: qualifiers
The first day of the competition started with a briefing at the local school, where the organisers presented the format of their new event. Due to some technical difficulties during the weekend, the format changed a bit, and in the end allowed paddlers to spend more time on the water. For qualifiers, all racers had two laps down the qualifying section, which starts below the TNT rapid and above Championskiller Minus-one.
Day two: semi-finals and finals
The top one hundred men and fifteen women with the fastest times on the qualifying section were then challenged to run the top part of the course. The racers started on a platform below the bridge, with a steep seal launch down a ramp to get started. Semi-finals put a lot of pressure on the racers, as only thirty men and five women would make the cut. From racers going all out on the flat water (better known as the ‘bicep burner’ that day) and not having enough energy for the crux moves at the bottom, to racers going nice and smooth, there was a rollercoaster of emotion that morning.
Finally, at the end of the day, the finalists all had one more chance to put down the fastest time – and it was tight! Congratulations to all the racers, but especially to the top three women: Palm team paddler Martina Wegman (third), Maike Most (second) and Laura Hofberger (first); and top three men: Michele Ramazza (third) Mario Leitner (second) and Dane Jackson (first). The Palm team also layed down some fast times, with Arthur Bernot in 38th, Lucien Schreiber in 66th and Sam Clegg in 112th.
Day three: river day
One of the perks about finishing the competition on the Saturday was to leave room for people to paddle together on the Sunday. After a very interesting workshop organized by The River Collective and Free Rivers Fund groups, everyone gathered to paddle down the lower section of the Oetz under the sun, a great way to finish off the trip.
While many paddlers already competed at Sickline, it was also the first time for others to race down this famous section of whitewater. Having grown up watching Sickline every year, it felt amazing to be part of this new event and be challenged to be fast and smooth. We are definitely looking forward to coming back next year! Thanks again to the organisers, safety team and all volunteers.
