Slovenia’s Jure Lenarčič was a stand-out performer on the opening day of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Liptovský Mikuláš in Slovakia ©ICF

Slovenia’s Jure Lenarčič and Great Britain’s Bradley Forbes-Cryans up-staged more fancied rivals to top the men’s C1 and K1 qualifying standings on the opening day of the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Slalom World Cup in Liptovský Mikuláš in Slovakia.

The biggest surprise came from Lenarčič, a winner of two team gold medals at under-23 level on the Liptovský Mikuláš course, but still chasing his first senior C1 podium finish.

He finished ahead of a field that included Olympic gold medallists Michal Martikán of Slovakia and Denis Gargaud-Chanut of France, as well as a host of world and European champions.

There were three Slovakians in the top 10, with World Championship silver medallist and local resident, Alexander Slafkovsky, qualifying ninth.

In the K1, Forbes-Cryans finished 0.18 seconds ahead of world champion Ondřej Tunka of Czech Republic.

British team-mate and Olympic gold medallist Joseph Clarke was the third fastest.

"I was definitely feeling up for the challenge today - I just wanted to go out there and try and deliver my best performance," Forbes-Cryans said.

"I feel like I got pretty close to that. 

"It’s nice to see some rewards in what is an outstandingly difficult class.

"There’s just so many good boats that are capable of winning these events."

Great Britain’s Bradley Forbes-Cryans topped the men's K1 qualifying standings ©ICF
Great Britain’s Bradley Forbes-Cryans topped the men's K1 qualifying standings ©ICF

Austria’s Corinna Kuhnle followed up her European silver medal-winning performance earlier this month with a solid qualifying run in the women's K1, finishing 0.80 seconds ahead of reigning world champion Jessica Fox of Australia.

"I lost a little bit in the middle section, but otherwise it was a well composed run," Kuhnle said.

"The course is tricky but it’s nice.

"It’s a competition for the best canoeists in the world, so I think it’s good that we have tough courses.

"I had a second in the Europeans, so I guess that’s my motivation to get one spot higher."

Fox found her way to the top of the leaderboard later in the day, beating younger sister Noemie by 1.71 seconds to head into semi-finals on Sunday (June 24) as the fastest qualifier.

"You just have to go and do your run, and I was really happy with my race - just really solid and smooth," Fox said.

"But I’m really happy for Noemie to get a good result in the qualifiers as well.

"It’s nice to get that first run back on the international circuit.

"It’s always good to get that out of the way and get a feel for it again."