For the fifth year running the world's elite kayakers will descend on the Austrian town of Oetz in the Ötztal valley, Tirol, this weekend for the 2011 Adidas Sickline Extreme Kayak World Championship.
Essentially a life-endangering kayak sprint along the legendary Wellerbrücke rapids on the River Oetz, the competition was born from a desire among the world's expeditionary kayakers to battle it out against one another in a proper contest.
This year, around 140 athletes representing 25 different countries, including Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States and Russia, will test their mettle on the sickline – the perfect, smoothest and fastest line downriver – while maneuvering steep drops, waterfalls and other whitewater difficulties. And you'll be able to watch some of this heart-stopping action live on redbull.tv.
After training and qualifying on Friday, the competition gets serious on Saturday when these intrepid kayakers take on a course listed as being in 'The Champions' Killer' class. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final all take place on the same day, with the final being broadcast live on redbull.tv at 13h00 CET. Live commentary comes from kayaking legend Steve Fisher.
Want more?
- Check out the Adidas Sickline website
- A record-breaking 186ft kayak descent
- More water sports on redbull.com
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