Time now for the 2nd Rowing World Cup of the 2018 season and it’s to Linz in Austria. The Ottensheim course last hosted a World Cup back in 2007 but this year’s event is being used as a test for the World Championships which are due to be held here in 2019.

Interestingly FISA have decided that, as part of their testing procedures for 2019 they will be running Time Trials instead of heats to decide on progression. This sort of format is increasingly popular for UK domestic regattas but is very much a “Plan B” for FISA.

So, who is racing….?

M1X

31 scullers

Another big field (following on from the 32 scullers at the 1st World Cup), but the field doesn’t include the 2017 World Champion and winner in Belgrade Ondrej Synek. All eyes will be on the “battle of the Oar-Blacks” – the showdown between two-time Olympic champion Mahe Drysdale and the current world’s fastest sculler Robbie Manson. These two are vying for selection in the M1X for the 2018 World Championships (and by implication for the Tokyo Olympics). The pair have raced eachother twice this year domestically with Manson coming out on top both times with Drysdale back in 5th. But Mahe is an expert at peaking at the right time and it would be a fool to write off his chances when it comes down to the wire, plus Mahe has been here before when he was involved in a race-off with Rob Waddell for selection for London. The contest between these two is almost more interesting than who actually wins in Linz.

With all the focus on Manson v Drysdale it’s easy to overlook the fact that there is a third Kiwi sculler competing in Linz, Giacomo Thomas. He spent the 2017 season in the M4X finishing 7th. He’s no stranger to the world Cup M1X field having raced as NZL2 during the 2015 season.

Another fascinating inter-team battle is between Tim Ole Naske and Oliver Zeidler of Germany. Naske withdrew from Belgrade and in his absence Zeidler, who only took up rowing 18 months ago, surprised the world when he led the final to the 1500m mark before being overhauled and finishing 3rd. A former top class swimmer, he comes from a family of rowers so it’s perhaps no surprise he’s taken to the single like a duck to water. With more experience under his belt he has the potential to become a major force in the single for years to come. Naske had been touted as the successor to Marcel Hacker…U23 World Champion in 2016 and A-Finalist at the senior World Championships in 2017, but with Zeidler bursting on the scene this season it’ll be fascinating to see what the German selectors do.

But, there are medals to be won in Linz and it isn’t just about NZL v NZL and GER v GER. Also in the hunt for the medals will be Croatia’s Olympic silver medallists Damir Martin. He had been slated to race in Belgrade but withdrew, so Linz will be his first race since finishing 2nd to Serbia’s Marko Marjanovic at the Croatian Open in April.

Denmark’s Sverri Nielsen finished 4th in Belgrade (the best ever performance by a Danish heavyweight single sculler at a World Cup since 1993) the strength of the field in Linz may make it difficult for him to repeat that sort of finish position, but an A-Final placing would be a great achievement.

Cuba’s Angel Fournier-Rodriguez was slightly underwhelming at Belgrade, finishing a distant 6th in the A-Final, but on his day he’s capable of making the podium 9as he did in Florida last season). It just remains to be seen what form he brings to Linz.

Another sculler who had a slightly disappointing 1st world Cup was Kjetil Borch of Norway. The 2013 M2X World Champion and Rio bronze medallist finished 9th in his first international M1X since the 2nd World Cup of 2013. He will be hoping to be higher up the field in Linz and establish himself as a contender in the M1X field.

Another sculler who’ll be looking to make a step-up from Belgrade is Great Britain’s Harry Leask. He finished 14th in his first senior international race in the M1X and progression to the B-final would be a good step forward for the 22 year-old.

Australia’s Campbell Watts is making his international debut as a sculler having raced in the M8 at last year’s world Championships that finished 8th.

A couple of other scullers worth a mention are Poland’s Adam Wicenciak and Switzerland’s Barnabe Delarze. Wiceniack spent 2017 in crew sculling boats and took bronze medals at both the 2nd and 3rd world Cups (in the M2X and M4X). He raced in the M2X with Szymon Posnik in Belgrade finishing 2nd in the B-Final. Delarze is making his season’s debut In Linz. He spent 2017 in the M2X with Roman Roeoesli finishing 7th in Sarasota. Linz will be his first M1X race since finishing 12th at the 2014 World Championships.

My picks…Manson or Drysdale…..my heart says Mahe but my head says Robbie and in fact I think Martin will split the two of them. Manson in gold, Martin silver and bronze to Drysdale.

M2X

13 crews

Belgrade winners Lithuania are not racing in Linz, in their absence the British duo of Jack Beaumont and Angus Groom will start as strong medal contenders. They took silver in Belgrade and were both in the M4X that made the A-Final at the Rio Olympics. But, the British will face some stiff competition from a highly experienced Italian pairing of Romana Battisti and Simone Venier. Venier is making his first appearance since racing in the M8 at the Rio Olympics. Rio was his third Olympics and he won silver in the M4X at the Beijing Games. Battisti won silver in this event at the London Olympics and also won World Championship bronze and silver in 2013 and 2014 and just missed out on a medal at the Rio Games. For 2017 he moved into the quad finishing 12th in Sarasota.

But perhaps the strongest contenders for gold are the New Zealander’s John Storey and Chris Harris. They had a perfect season last year, winning both the 2nd and 3rd World Cups and rounding the season off with a gold at the World Championships. Storey was in the M4X that finished last in Rio with Harris in the M2X (with Robbie Manson) that finished a disappointing 11th in Rio (having won at the last World Cup). Since forming a new M2X partnership the Kiwis have become the crew to beat. During the NZ domestic season Storey took silver in the M1X at the National Championships behind Manson and Harris, partnered by Manson, won the M2X title. It remains to be seen if the Kiwis pick up where they left off in Sarasota.

Poland’s silver medallists from Sarasota, Miroslaw Zietarski and Mateusz Biksup, raced in the M4X at Belgrade finishing just outside of the medals. For Linz they are back in their preferred M2X boat. At Sarasota they led through the 1000m mark before being overhauled by the New Zealanders who just pipped the Poles by 6/10th of a second. Another showdown between the Poles and the Kiwis should be pretty special.

France are another nation with strong hopes for a medal in this event, Matthieu Androdias and Hugo Boucheron were A-Finalists in Rio and had a best finish of 4th during the 2017 World Cup Series. At the World Championships they reached the A-Final finishing 6th overall.

Among the other crews racing the Swiss are an exciting combination, Nico Stahlberg and Roman Roeoesli. They were both members of the Swiss quad that finished 7th at the Rio Olympics. They last raced together as a double at the European Championships in 2015, finishing 4th. Stahlberg spent the 2017 season in the M1X finishing 9th. He started the 2018 season in the single again taking 10th in Belgrade. Roeoesli also raced in the M1X at Belgrade and took silver behind Synek. He spent 2017 racing in the double with Barnabe Delarze winning bronze at the Europeans and 8th at the World Championships.

Germany’s Lars Hartig and Timo Piontek were bronze medallists in Belgrade. Hartig, a former LM1X world silver medallist, switched to heavyweight in 2015 and Belgrade marked his best performance since 2015. Piontek raced in the M4X last season finishing 8th in Sarasota.

My picks….this should be a great contest but I’m going to have to go with the World Champions from New Zealand to take gold with the Italians in silver and the Brits to pip the Poles for bronze.

M2-

22 pairs

This could be one of the best races of the regatta, it’s the first meeting of the year between the gold and silver medallists from the 2017 World Championships…Italy v Croatia…Matteo Lodo & Vincenzo Abbagnale versus Valent and Martin Sinkovic. The 2017 final was one of the races of the championships with the Italians mounting a crazy last 250m at 46 strokes per minute to outsprint the Croatians. For their part the Croatians now have more time together in the M2- and won their first M2- gold in Belgrade.

Another crew that will definitely add some spice to the contest are the new Australian pair of Spencer Turrin and Alex Hill. They were both members of the M4- that won the World Championships last year and are doubling-up in the M4- in Linz. Turrin rowed in the pair with Alex Lloyd at Rio finishing 6th. Hill won silver in Rio in the M4- behind GB. These two look a really strong pair and could definitely cause some problems for the Croatian favourites – possibly the best Aussie pair since Drew Ginn and Duncan Free!

France have two boats entered, two boats of brothers…the first are Theophile and Valentin Onfroy and the 2nd boat is the Turlan twins, Thibaud and Guillaume. The Onfroy’s had a strong 2017 winning silver at the European Championships and then gold and bronze at the 2nd and 3rd World Cups. They ended the season with a 4th place at the Worlds. The Turlan twins are a young crew of the future, they made their senior debut at the Poznan World Cup finishing 6th and then won silver at the U23 World Championships.

New Zealand are synonymous with this event, and whoever has the responsibility to represent the Oar-Blacks has mighty big shoes (seats?) to fill. For 2018 that responsibility falls to Charles Robertson and Martyn O’Leary. This duo were members of the U23 BM4+ that won the World Championships in 2016. Rogerson made his senior debut in the M4- last season, finishing 12th at the World Championships. Linz marks O’Leary’s senior debut.

Silver medallists behind the Croatians in Belgrade were the Czechs, Lukas Helesic and Jakub Podrazil. That medal marked their best ever performance as a pair since they made their senior debuts in the boat in 2015.

Bronze medallists in Belgrade were the Belarussians – Dzimitry Furman and Siarhei Valadzko. They raced at the World Championships as a pair last year finishing 10th.

Great Britain have two crews racing, James Rudkin and Josh Bugajski in GBR1 and an all-Abingdon School boat of Ollie Cook and Matt Rossiter (as an Old-Abingdonian I’m pretty chuffed about that!) Bugajski and Rudkin were in the M8 in Belgrade that won silver behind the Germans. Ollie Cook, the 2016 M2+ World Champion, makes his 2018 debut after recovering from injury. Rossiter was in the M4- last season that won bronze in Sarasota. This pair looks to have a lot of potential and an A-Final finish in such a strong field would be a good start.

My picks….This could be a shock…I reckon the Aussies could take down the Croatians with the Italian World Champions pushed back into bronze.

M4-

14 crews

Another event that pits the gold and silver medallists from Sarasota in unchanged line-ups. Australia are the reigning World Champions with Spencer Turrin, Josh Hicks, Alex Hill & Jack Hargreaves. As mentioned above, Turrin & Hill are also entered in the M2- so it remains to be seen if they do both events, and if so what effect it has on them.

Italy finished runners-up to the Aussies in Sarasota and they are unchanged for 2018 with Marco Di Costanzo, Giovanni Abagnale, Matteo Castaldo & Domenico Montrone. Abagnale and Di Costanzo raced in the M2- at the Rio Olympics winning a bronze medal (their first in this event since 1948!) Montrone and Castaldo are also bronze medallists from the Rio Games when they finished 3rd in the M4- behind the British and Australians.

GB have dominated this boat class for the last 20 years (at least at Olympic level), their plans to launch their 2018 campaign were derailed somewhat due to injury meaning the four that raced in Belgrade (finishing 5th) was effectively a scratch combination. For Linz however, they have their number one line-up with Harry Glenister, Callum McBrierty, Morgan Hellen & George Rossiter. McBrierty (M2+ World Champion in 2016) is the sole remaining member of the M4- that finished 5th in Belgrade. He raced in the M8 at the World Championships last year having deputised in the M4- at the 1st World Cup and taking gold. Glenister made his sweep debut in Belgrade finishing 7th in the M2- He’s previously raced in the Quad finishing 4th in the U23 BM4X in 2017. George Rossiter made his senior debut in Belgrade partnering Glenister in the M2-. It was his senior debut four years after his last appearance in the GB vest at the U23 World Championships following s serious back injury. Morgan Hellen has also just recovered from serious injury that ruled him out for the whole of the 2017 season. This is a boat with a lot of potential, but given the strength of the field an A-Final appearance would be a positive step.

GB have a 2nd crew racing with three of the 5th placed crew from Belgrade, Jacob Dawson, James Johnston & Tom Ford. Dawson and Neill were in the GB M8 that finished 7th last season, Johnston is a two-time U23 silver medallist and Tom Ford finished 4th in the M2+ in Florida. It should be a good battle between the two GB crews.

The Netherlands placed 1 & 2 in Belgrade with the 1st placed crew now moving to the M8 and the silver medallists remain in the 4. However, they have been forced to make one change though when Robert Luecken dropped a bombshell by retiring from international rowing last week. In his place comes Bjorn Van Den Ende. The former lightweight finished 11th in the LM4- before moving up to the heavyweights finishing 4th in the M8 last season. He joins Kaj Hendricks, Jasper Tissen and Tone Wieten. Hendricks and Wieten were members of the M8 in Rio that won bronze and Tissen was a member of the M4- last season that finished 4th last year.

Belarus picked up a bronze medal in Belgrade, Vadzim Lialin, Dzmitry Vyberanets, Ihar Pashevich and Mikalai Sharlap. They raced as a M4- at the Rio Olympics finishing 9th.

Poland have a new four for Linz, Ryszard Ablewski, Piotr Juszcak, Mikolaj Burda & Michal Szpakowski. All four of them have been members of the M8 over the last few years and finished 5th in Rio. It’ll be interesting to see how they get on as a four.

The final crew to mention are the new Swiss four of Fabian Thali, Markus Kessler, Benjamin Hirsch and Mario Gyr. This is an exciting combination of youth and experience with Gyr making his first appearance since winning gold in the LM4- at the Rio Olympics. He’s joined by international debutant Fabian Thali from Seeclub Luzern and Markus Kessler who raced in the M2- at a couple of the World Cups last season.

My picks….Aussies in gold with Italy in silver and the Netherlands in bronze.

M4X

13 crews

The M4X is, perhaps, GB’s best chance of a gold medal at Linz. The crew of John Collins, Tom Barras, Jonny Walton and Graeme Thomas were winners in Belgrade, timing their race to perfection to overhaul a strong German quad in the final quarter. This must now rank as the number 1 GB boat (the first time that’s ever been a sculling boat). They will be looking to stamp their authority on the event, and send a message to the Lithuanians (who beat the British at the World Championships but haven’t raced so far this season) that they are the crew to beat.

Germany have retained the crew that finished 2nd to the British in Belgrade, Ruben Steinhardt, Philipp Syring, Hans Gruhne and Stephan Krueger. For their part they will be wanting to get their own back on the British. They are a talented boat led by Olympic Champion Gruhne. A rematch with the British should be fun.

Bronze medallists in Belgrade were the Norwegians, they surprised a few people in the final having looked out of the hunt at half-way in the unfancied lane 6, but a strong final sprint saw them take the bronze ahead of Poland. The crew is stroked by one of the true legends of the sport – Olaf Tufte the 42 year old is nearly 20 years older than his crew mates but those three, Martin Helseth, Erik Solbakken & Jan Helvig, finished 6th at the World Championships last year (with Nils Jakob Hoff in the stroke seat).

Making their first appearance of 2018 are the Italians. Filippo Mondelli and Luca Rambaldi raced in the M2X last season winning a bronze medal at the World Championships. They are joined by Andrea Panizza and Giacomo Gentili who raced in the quad last year finishing last in the B-Final. With a stronger line-up this season they will be looking to make the A-Final at the very least.

Another nation making their 2018 debut are the New Zealanders. They have made one change to the crew that finished 7th at the World Championships last year with u23 world Champion Jordan Parry replacing Giacomo Thomas and joining Nathan Flannery, Cam Crampton and Lewis Hollows. The Oar-Blacks have struggled to find a M4X that is really competitive and for the 2018 iteration an A-Final finish in Linz will be a good step.

The Netherlands have made two changes to the crew that finished 5th in Belgrade. Dirk Uittenbogaard and Stefan Broenink move into the quad having raced the M2X to a 4th place at the 1st world Cup. They join Koen Metsemakers and Abe Wiersma who finished 4th in this boat class at the World Championships last year. They will be strong contenders for the minor medals.

Poland, who finished 4th in Belgrade, have also made two changes to their crew with Szymon Posnik (8th in the M2X in Belgrade) and Maciej Zawoski (13th in the M1X at the 2017 Belgrade World Cup) joining Dominik Czaja and Wiktor Chabel. On paper this looks to have weakened the crew with world silver medallists Mateusz Biksup and Miroslaw Zietarski moving back into the M2X.

Australia have a blend of youth and experience, the crew is stroked by Olympian David Watts who finished 7th in the M2X in Rio. He’s joined by his 2017 M2X partner Luke Letcher and Alex Purnell and Caleb Antil. Letcher, Purnell and Antil have all won medals at U23 level with Letcher and Antil being part of the U23 BM4X that won gold in 2016. This has the potential to be a very competitive boat.

Also racing are a young Austrian crew, all of whom are making their senior international debuts, France (with three of the crew that finished 9th last season and U23 silver medallist Romauld Thomas), Russia (unchanged from the crew that finished 6th in Belgrade), Ukraine 911th in 2017) and the sole US men’s crew racing in Linz (with two of the crew that finished last at the world championships).

My picks….got to go with a British gold, but it’ going to be a good battle behind them with Germany taking the silver and the Italians in bronze.

M8

8 crews

After a disappointing 2017 Great Britain have prioritised the M8 for the 2018 season. In their first outing in Belgrade they gave the Germans a good run for their money, but ultimately came up short. Jurgen Grobler has strengthened the crew for Linz bringing Olympic champion Tom Ransley back in at bow and Tom George, having helped Princeton to a 5th place finish at the IRA Championships. George raced in the M2- at last year’s World Championships (with Tom Jeffery) finishing 5th.

Germany are unchanged from the crew that won in Belgrade and also won the gold medal in Sarasota last season. They remain the benchmark for all other M8 to be judged.

Italy are making their first appearance of the season and have an unchanged line-up from the crew that finished 3rd at the World Championships. They will be keen to muscle-in on the GER v GB battle.

Australia have a new crew for 2018 with just three returners from the crew that finished 8th last year (Angus Moore, Tim Masters & Simon Keenan). They are joined by Olympic silver medallist Josh Booth and two members of the U23 World Champion M8 Liam Donald and Robert Black. M2+ silver medallist Angus Widdicombe is at 2 and Nick Purnell (who last raced at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta in 2016) in 5.

The Netherlands have 2 boats entered. The core of the A-Crew is from the M4- that won in Belgrade (Boudewijn Roell, Mechiel Versluis & Ruben Knab). At bow is Vincent Van der Want who finished 4th in the M4- in Sarasota and raced in the NED3 M4- in Belgrade that finished 8th. At 2 and 3 are Simon Van Dorp and Maarten Hurkmans, they were both members of the U23 M8 that won the World Championships last year. In the stern are ex Van Den Herik and Nelson Ritsma they raced in the 4th M4- in Belgrade ending up in the C Final. The 2nd Netherlands boat has the two M2-‘s that raced the B Final in Belgrade ( Sander De Graaf, Vincent Klaassens, Bas Thijssen and Jacob Van de Kerkhof) along with 3 members of the NE3 M4- from Belgrade (Mitchel Steenman, Govert Viergever & Harold Langen) and in the stern U23 World Champion Michiel Oyen.

New Zealand have being trying to get a competitive M8 for a number of years. They have come close but haven’t quite been able to get on the podium. For 2018 they have a core of athletes from the 2016 Olympic 8 that made the A-Final (Isaac Grainger, Jonathan Wright – in his first race since the Olympics, Stephen Jones, Shaun Kirkham, Brook Robertson and cox Caleb Shepherd). Joining the crew for 2018 are Cameron Webster and Anthony Allen who raced in the M4- last season that finished 12th, and U23 international Philip Wilson. It’ll be interesting to see how the Kiwis get on, I’m not sure they’ll make the podium but a 4th or 5th place would be a positive in their first race of the season.

The final crew to mention are the Poles. They have swapped the bow 4 from the 8 in Belgrade with the M4- that finished 13th in Belgrade, clearly their coaches are experimenting with different combinations in both boat classes, although the line-up of the M8 for Linz doesn’t look as strong as the one that finished 4th in Belgrade.

My picks….should be another great battle between the British and the Germans. At Belgrade GB were a fraction over 1 second behind the Germans. For Linz I think they will close that gap to tenths of a second but still finish behind Germany. Bronze could go to any one of three crews Italy, The Netherlands or Australia but I think Italy will just get it. Gold Germany silver GB and bronze Italy.