Florence fails in French bid

Capital canoeist David Florence tried to stay philosophical yesterday despite crashing back to earth at the slalom World Cup in Pau, France.

The Olympic silver medallist took double gold at last week’s World Cup in Cardiff, but a missed gate pushed the Forth Canoe Club star down to 25th place in the C1 semis, while four penalty seconds cost Florence and Rich Hounslow and left them 14th overall. “Two golds last weekend, but I missed both finals this weekend – that’s the nature of sport,” he said.