Clarke, the reigning Olympic K1 champion, took advantage of perfect conditions at the Pau-Pyrénées Whitewater Stadium in south-west France.

He clocked a time of 77.90sec to finish 0.54 seconds clear of Czech Republic's World Cup series champion Vit Prindis.

Spaniard Samuel Hernanz was third fastest in 78.59.

"I didn’t realise it was going to be quite that good," Clarke said.

"I just went out there to do the best I could possibly do, and that was good.

"I feel quite positive, I’ve done quite a lot of training here to prepare for this event as best as possible. 

"It’s a four-year cycle, I’m trying to get back to where I was last year."

Franklin added to Britain's successful day in the women's C1 class.

The 23-year-old whistled down the course in 95.52, 1.59 seconds clear of home hope Claire Jacquet after she was handed a two-second penalty for a gate touch.

Spain’s Nuria Vilarrubla, a winner in La Seu at the last World Cup of the season, qualified third in 97.68.

Jonas Kaspar and Marek Sindler of Czech Republic qualified fastest in the men's C2 class.

They posted a time of 90.04 to edge out Olympic gold medallists Peter and Ladislav Skantar of Slovakia by 0.81 seconds.

Another Czech duo in Ondrej Karlovsky and Jakub Jane placed third in 91.25.

Action is due to continue in the men's C1 and women's K1 classes tomorrow.