A home-course advantage of just half a second might not seem a lot, but Australian paddler Lucien Delfour knows it could make all the difference in the hunt for a world title.
Delfour and reigning Olympic kayak cross champion Noemie Fox headline an 11-strong Australian squad set to vie for glory in front of home fans when the slalom world championships kick off on Monday.
The first time the championships have been held in Australia in 20 years, the world's best paddlers will take their hunt for a title to Penrith Whitewater Stadium - a legacy venue from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Delfour, who will compete in the men's kayak and kayak cross, first took on the Penrith course as part of the French team that competed at the 2007 Youth Olympics.
The 36-year-old, born in French Polynesia, has spent countless hours at Penrith since moving to Australia in 2010.
"(The home-course advantage) is pretty hard to show because we're talking, like, it could be half a second, a second quicker," Delfour told AAP.
"But in our sport, it's all it takes.
"This is a European sport, right? So, if you look at courses in the Czech Republic or Germany, for example, the locals always have a huge advantage.
"For us, this doesn't happen often."
Delfour heads into the world championships in fine form, after taking back-to-back kayak bronze medals in the opening two World Cup rounds in June.
Lauding the Penrith course for the "pure genius" of its layout, the two-time Olympian expects his international rivals to face some struggles with the artificial course.
"You can see the obstacle, the plastic obstacles, the concrete, the pumps lifting the water," Delfour said.
"I'm from an older generation where we paddled natural courses, where you have rivers going down just rock formations.
"Going from natural to artificial is quite tricky because the water feels different. The density is different. The temperature is also quite different.
"I can't speak for everyone, but this is one of the most loved courses in the world. For me, personally, it's just unmatched."
Delfour will be joined on the men's team by fellow Olympian Tim Anderson and 22-year-old debutant Ben Ross.
Melbourne product Ross, who will compete in canoe slalom, admits he hadn't expected the call-up to his first world championships.
"Last year I missed the under-23 team entirely, so I was off all slalom teams," Ross told AAP.
"This year, it was all about just trying to bring the absolute best that I could to selections.
"I'd never dreamed of making a senior team this year.
"It was a far-off dream. I thought, 'How cool would this be if I could get to race?'
"To have the dream realised is very special, something that I could have never, never hoped for in a thousand years."
Ross is one of four debutants on the Australian team, joined by Georgie O'Callaghan, Sarah Crosbee and Codie Davidson.
