Maialen Chourraut will contest the women's K1 at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Pau ©Getty Images

Reigning Olympic champions Maialen Chourraut and Denis Gargaud-Chanut are set to feature at the International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Slalom World Cup starting tomorrow in Pau.

In normal circumstances, Gargaud-Chanut would be contesting the men's C1 events in front of a home crowd in the French city.

He will instead be competing in front of no spectators, a result of the restrictive measures put in place to ensure the World Cup event can take place during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

There were concerns competition would be cancelled after France entered into a national lockdown, but certain international sporting events were given special dispensation to continue.

Gargaud-Chanut will be challenged by compatriot Martin Thomas and Spain's Ander Elosegi, a three-time Olympian. 

French Olympic champion Denis Gargaud-Chanut will compete at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Pau ©Getty Images
French Olympic champion Denis Gargaud-Chanut will compete at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Pau ©Getty Images

Chourraut is due to compete in the women's K1, but the Spaniard may face tough opposition from France's Romane Prigent, who triumphed at the World Cup event in Slovenia last month. 

Other key contenders include Vít Přindiš of the Czech Republic in the men's K1 and Brazil’s Ana Sátila in the women’s C1.

Competition is scheduled to begin tomorrow with heats in the men and women's K1 and C1. 

Semi-finals in the K1 are set for Saturday (November 7), followed by the medal races in the C1 on Sunday (November 8), when competition concludes. 

There will also be extreme canoe slalom races taking place, with this the second of just two ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup legs to be staged in 2020.