The Road to Rio - Checkpoint Ahead

Up until recently, the 'Road to Rio' has been a bit like a motorway: Plenty of room on the road for everyone, people going about their canoeing in their own way, but all driving to that glittering goal on the horizon. By the end of the day on the 26th of October, this motorway will have turned into a single track road for the British athletes, with the Olympic Selection series being the checkpoint with only one boat allowed any further along the road. Team GB canoe slalom will have been selected!

Olympic selection is a tough process, in so many ways. It pits the athletes against each other in a very direct way. There can be only one representative for British Canoeing in each race category for Team GB. This can put relationships under strain and is a great character test, as everyone knows that everyone wants the same thing. There is an undercurrent of tension, which most people try to manage with a 'business as usual' approach. The selection races occur all at once, three days in a row. You've got to be on it, as there isn't a second chance. As usual, there is a great deal of uncertainty about what specific challenge you will face, the course set could throw up anything and when you are overlaying this onto the mighty Lee Valley course, you can be sure it is going to be tough! And then there is the struggle which I believe goes on in every athlete's mind: how can you want something so badly, yet not have your thinking clouded by this desire?

For this cycle, as in every other I have been involved with, a fascinating scene has been set. In each of the categories, I know the athletes who are contesting it very well. I've watched them training and watched them go about their business. There is a mixture of seasoned campaigners, proven performers, young hotshots and unpredictable wildcards. The results of the World Championships have also introduced some mathematics into the mix: bonus points scored with high-placed finishes at the Worlds can make it a bit easier to get through the checkpoint. On top of all this, the senior team for 2016 is also selected at this point, so the athletes will be hoping to secure a place on next year's international scene, even if they don't get their Rio ticket organised.

In C1 Men, Worlds bonus points effectively mean that only David Florence or Ryan Westley can realistically secure the Olympic place. David's consistent performance level weighing in against Ryan's uninhibited and creative style will be a sight to behold. It is a mouthwatering prospect! Most likely the result of this battle will leave only one place on the 2016 team remaining. Adam Burgess and Tom Quinn look set to battle this one out, although the occasion could bring out the best in some of the young guns making up the rest of the field.

In K1 Men, the Worlds results give no points advantage to any athlete. Richard Hounslow has withdrawn from the race (presumably to focus on C2, although I have not had the chance to ask him directly), so the form book would suggest that it is a race between Joe Clarke and Bradley Forbes-Cryans for the Olympic spot. I love watching both these athletes in full flight, they are just amazing and I hope I will get to see them in action. It has to be said that in kayak racing the margins are very tight and there are several more players capable of putting very rapid runs down, so Huw Swetnam, Tom Brady or James Bailey could end up spicing things up! As in C1, there will also be a group of up-and-coming talent waiting for their opportunity to go blazing into the fray, which should keep everyone on their toes.

The K1 Women races will be equally absorbing. Lizzie Neave has useful bonus points from the Worlds, but they are unlikely to make things really easy for her. Both Lizzie and Fiona Pennie are former Olympians, so they could be expected to know the demands of this situation and get really stuck in. Kim Woods, whose campaign at the Worlds showed great maturity and skill, will be a strong threat too. I think this race series could be one of the most fluid, as the points could be shared around several athletes in the contest, meaning that the Olympic spot might not be clinched until the very end of the series.

Copyright Neil Proctor

In C1 Women, although no Olympic spot is up for grabs, Worlds bonus points for Kim Woods, Mallory Franklin and Eilidh Gibson make the mathematics harder for anyone else to get into the 2016 team, although I am sure there will be no free lunches offered by any contenders!

So, down to the subject closest to my heart: C2. The injury I picked up a few days before the Worlds proved difficult to shift, and we were unable to train for the 3 subsequent weeks. This was certainly not in our plans, especially not at this important time of year. It has been my experience in the past that injuries and unforeseen circumstances often serve to sharpen the focus and create a certain sort of mentality that can be very useful. I would say this has been the case again. I have done a whole tonne of rehab work, and we have used our 'spare' time as a crew to work on our mental preparation. Last week we were able to build up carefully back up on the whitewater, so we have been in a position to do our final week of training before the races in a modified manner, as opposed to a compromised manner.

The Worlds results give us and Florence/Hounslow bonus points. The maths works out such that if David and Richard win one of the races, then it is impossible for any other crew to be selected as Olympic boat. This reality cannot be denied and it presents a great challenge to us, Davies/Lister and Westley/Franklin. But this is Olympic selection and this is the crazy sport of canoe slalom, so our job remains the same as it ever was: to dedicate our best efforts to putting our best canoeing down the river and seeing what shakes out of the mix. I can honestly say that I find myself in one of the most interesting situations of my career and I am fascinated by it. The mindset and conditions that we have had to create have been a great challenge and a huge experience already. In many ways, the selection series will just be the icing on the cake, as I can say with certainty that in the last few weeks, I have grown as an athlete and unearthed some deep knowledge within myself.

All in all, I feel that I can offer a guarantee that Olympic Selection will be an epic! It will be the most interesting race of the year, both to watch and to participate in. Such a rich experience awaits us, and I am determined to live it fully and gain all I can from the process. The race is open to the public and has free admission, so come along and support us all. Wish us luck and leave the rest to canoe slalom magic!