Andorra's Doria Eyes Podium Redemption at Home Canoe World Cup

Andorra's Mònica Doria will seek redemption at the Canoe World Cup in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, after a near-miss in Paris, joined by teammates Nil Checa and 16-year-old debutante Ona Perelegre.

The elite slalom event opens Thursday and runs through Sunday at the Olympic-standard canal bordering Andorra, drawing top global competitors. Doria, who finished 13th in Vaires-sur-Marne last week, missed the canoe final by six hundredths of a second due to a two-second penalty on gate 17. Her clean time would have qualified her comfortably. "I'm coming with extra fire, no doubt," she said, determined to reach the final on a course she knows intimately. "It's home, our canal that we know best." If she advances, her aim is clear: "The goal is the podium, as high as possible."

Doria enters off her career highlight—a canoe world silver in Oklahoma this summer—hoping familiarity boosts her late-season push. Toni Cadena, technical director of the Andorran Canoe and Kayak Federation, expects strong results but urged caution: "She's projected to paddle at this quality on a canal she's raced countless times, but we must go step by step."

Checa, fresh from Paris where he gained valuable exposure on unfamiliar water, feels confident on the home track. "I'm in great shape because it's a World Cup at home," he said. "It's a canal I've trained on my whole life, so I think it could go really well."

Perelegre makes her senior World Cup bow in her everyday training venue. "I'm thrilled to debut at La Seu d'Urgell, the canal we paddle almost daily," she said, citing good recent sessions and course knowledge of lines and counters as advantages.

Cadena views the event as a learning opportunity for the developing pair, with Doria as a close role model. The trio's participation underscores Andorra's emerging strength in the discipline.