2015 ICF Classic Series ranking results

Tom Brennan (IRL). Foto: www.canoe.ie

The ICF marathon classic series are over for the current year with the dispute of the Shaoxing Canoe Marathon in China (site that will host the 2019 World Marathon Championships), so the global rankings of the World Series have determined the winners. After a quick look, you can already ser thta this formula is not established yet as it was conceived, although it is true that has opened a bit more the taste for travelling & competing (as we recently could check in the French Ardèche Marathon). But as usual, the big problem ...

Tomas Slovak and Manuela Stöberl are the new ICF Classic Marathon World Series 2012 winners

Tomas Slovak winning the Adige Marathon, in Italy

The ICF Marathon Classic World Series are completed this year with the dispute in a tight October of Cesky Krumlov (CZE) and Adige Marathon (ITA), whose winners have become the winners of the series, replacing Spaniard Kiko Vega and South African Hilary Pitchford, 2011 title holders.  Slovakian Tomas Slovak and German Manuela Stöberl, both specialists in white water descent, got enough points to be the new champions in 2012. Anyway, Tomas Slovak got two victories on a surfski from his sponsor Vajda. With the ICF Marathon Series still in their childhood, they may need some review of the criteria. In South Africa, many years ago, surfskis were banned at river descents, since being longer and watertight, buoyancy in waves and the speed they were getting was an unfairness against the traditional K1. 
The series started in early April with the Devizes to Westminster, terrific English race of 125 miles (about 180 km.) and 77 portages, raced in a single day by K2s, while K1s do it in four stages.