The British athlete, a gold medallist at Rio 2016, will not be in Tokyo to defend his men’s K1 title but sent a reminder to the rest of the field how fast he can be with a strong showing in the heats.

Clarke posted a time of 1min 30.95sec on the German course, 1.38sec quicker than the next-fastest athlete - British team mate Bradley Forbes-Cryans, who will be competing at the Games.

"The top section went to plan perfectly, the bottom section I just dropped off a little bit, but I had plenty of time at the top of the course to absorb it," Clarke said.

"This is pretty similar to Lee Valley, and I had a win at the World Cup in 2019, so hopefully I can have the same success here."

Austria’s Felix Oschmautz, who will make his Olympic debut in Tokyo, finished with the third-fastest time time.

Tokyo-bound athletes Ricarda Funk, Mallory Franklin and Benjamin Savšek showed they are in top form ahead of next month’s Olympic Games

Britain's Franklin registered a time of 1:40.09 to finish well ahead of the Czech Republic’s Tereza Fišerová, with Germany's Andrea Herzog back in third in the women's C1.

"It was a nice solid run I think, it’s a really tough course, which shows with the results that are coming out, so I’m glad that I was able to hold it together," Franklin said.

"I’ll just keep doing what I’m trying to do, and then hopefully at some point I’ll put it all together."

After an uncharacteristic, error-strewn showing in Czech capital Prague last week, Germany’s Funk bounced back with a solid display in the women's K1 heats, finishing in 1:39.07.

Her time was 0.46 quicker than Australia’s Jessica Fox, with Austria’s Corinna Kuhnle third.

"Tokyo is not far away, we are on the final steps, so it is good to have had a good run here," said Funk.

Slovenia’s Savšek, who is set for his third Olympics, produced an error-free ruin to finish in 1:36.32 in the men's C1 - more than one second ahead of Slovakia’s Alexander Slafkovský, with Australia’s Daniel Watkins finishing 1.92 behind the Slovenian, in a time that included a two-second penalty for a gate touch.

"It’s nice to be in first place, even if it is just qualifications," said Savšek.

"I’m satisfied with my run. I’m feeling good, it’s a tough course, more technical but with power in the second half, so I’m satisfied with my run today."

Competition is due to continue tomorrow with the finals in the men’s and women’s K1 events.