Hot heats at Lucerne Rowing World Cup

At the fabulous Rotsee regatta course the water was flat with just a smidgen of a tail wind. In one of the biggest World Cups ever, the heats in the Olympic class events went on for 52 races. Read about them here.

Women’s Pair (W2-) – Heats

A couple of cancellations in crews (for medical reasons) narrowed the women’s pair down to two heats with the top finisher getting a direct path to Sunday’s final. All other boats would have to race in this afternoon’s repechage for a second chance.

Krista Guloien and Ashley Brzozowicz of Canada won at the first Rowing World Cup in Bled back in May and after returning to Canada for continued training they have returned to Europe to again test themselves on the international scene. Guloien and Brzozowicz, in heat one, took a handy lead at the start and by half way they had opened up four seconds over Germany in second. Germany did nothing to challenge Canada, rather it was Pauline Fransca and Phoebe Stanley of Australia who grabbed the bull by the horns and went after the Canadians. Canada held them off and crossed the line in the one qualifying spot with Australia easily overtaking Germany to take second.

Rebecca Scown and Juliette Haigh of New Zealand showed their dominating boat speed at the Munich Rowing World Cup last month and they continued on their winning ways today with a comfortable, but perhaps not dominating, win in heat two. Chasing Scown and Haigh hard was Susan Francia of the United States rowing with new partner Meghan Musnicki. The US number one crew has had to pull out so Francia and Musnicki will be waving the stars and stripes flag in this event. At the line Scown and Haigh had earned the qualifying spot with Francia and Musnicki crossing three seconds back and just a fraction ahead of Australia Two.

Men’s Pair (M2-) – Heats

A large 20 boat field was divided into four heats with the top two boats in each heat going on to Saturday’s semifinals. All other crews would get a second chance in this afternoon’s repechages. The Gkountoulas twins, Nikolaos and Apostolos, set the standard in heat one. The Greek twins got out in the lead at the start with Cuba in hot pursuit. As Cuba began to fade France moved on but were still a big four seconds down on the Gkountoulas’s coming into the final 500m of the race. Then Cameron Nichol and Tom Burton of Great Britain put their boat into turbo boost and charged. Their turbo power brought them ahead of France and closed the gap on the Greeks. Greece did just enough to stay in front and the Greeks and Great Britain Two qualify for the semifinal.

Ever since Hamish Bond and Eric Murray of New Zealand came together in the pair last year they haven’t lost a race. Today, in heat two, Bond and Murray continued to dominate. Early in the race, however, Bond and Murray’s lead was limited with Australia, Germany and Italy right with them. It took until the second 1000m of the race for Bond and Murray to start to shake the rest of the field. Still Niccolo Mornati and Lorenzo Carboncini of Italy held on. The Kiwis kept the pressure on while the rest of the field drifted back. New Zealand and Italy qualify for the semifinal.

Peter Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge of Great Britain are the two best rowers in the British men’s squad. But they have been beaten by New Zealand at every encounter since 2009. There is now talk about the duo going into a four. Lucerne may be their last chance to prove themselves. Today they spent the first half of the race behind the new United States duo of Jacob Cornelius and Charles Cole. Reed and Hodge then must have decided enough is enough as they shot past the Americans and finished with a huge margin lead. Great Britain One and the United States go to the semifinal.

Greece qualified a second boat when their number two crew crossed the line in front in heat four. Georgios Tziallas and Ioannis Christou of Greece led from start to finish and recorded a time not far off the top New Zealand pair. Behind Tziallas and Christou the real battle was going on for second between the Netherlands and Serbia. A stronger second half by Marko Marjanovic and Nikola Stojic of Serbia gave them the edge and they qualify for the semifinal along with Greece Two.

Women’s Double Sculls (W2x) – Heats

This event attracted 16 boats which were divided into three heats with the top two boats from each heat earning a spot in Saturday’s semifinal. The current World Cup leaders, Anna Watkins and Katherine Grainger of Great Britain had big grins on their faces after winning heat one. Watkins and Grainger have finished first at both Rowing World Cups this season and, despite doubling up in the women’s quad as well, Watkins and Grainger totally know how to hold their own and how much energy to expel to cross the line in first. Australia’s new combination of Kim Crow and Sally Kehoe put up a strong challenge, sticking with the British for the entire race. Crow and Kehoe competed in the single at the last Rowing World Cup with Crow earning a bronze. Together they are a strong combination and Watkins and Grainger are now aware of this. Great Britain and Australia outclassed the rest of the field and go to the semifinal.

Heat Two looked like an American rowing trial with the two US crews fighting it out for the lead. Megan Kalmoe and Margot Shumway had the edge at the start, but Stesha Carle and Kathleen Bertko had the stamina. Coming into the middle of the race Carle and Bertko inched ahead and then never looked back. Kalmoe and Shumway had no reply but looked satisfied to qualify from second. Both crews crossed the finish line looking very tidy and both US crews are in the semifinal. A tired China came through in third and will have to race in the repechage.

Germany’s regular in the double, Annekatrin Thiele has a new partner. She is joined by Stephanie Schiller and today the new duo led from start to finish. Behind them, silver medallists from Rowing World Cup II, sisters Lenka and Jitka Antosova of the Czech Republic, kept the Germans honest and in the process moved well away from Finland in third. Germany and the Czech Republic move on to the semifinals on Saturday.

Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls (LM2x) – Heats

This event is always well-represented and today 23 crews lined up. They were divided into four heats with the top boat only getting a direct path to the semifinal. This would be quite an attractive prospect as it meant missing this afternoon’s repechage. New Zealand’s Storm Uru and Peter Taylor especially liked this prospect and took off at a cracking pace to earn a solid lead with just 500m rowed in heat one. (Taylor and Uru come to Lucerne after racing in the open double at the Henley Royal Regatta last week.) They had a comfortable lead for the entire race with the United States putting a mid-race burst in to try and close the gap but then settling for second.

Douglas Vandor and Cameron Sylvester won the first Rowing World Cup and then went back to their home country Canada, missing the second Rowing World Cup. They are back and look to be on top of their game with a very easy win in the second heat. This was despite being up against Italy who always boat a strong crew. At the line Canada had qualified for the final in the same time as the World Champion New Zealanders from heat one.

Heat three featured the young German upstarts, Linus Lichtschlag and Lars Hartig, who have been shaking up the results in this event. Today Lichtschlag and Hartig overtook a fast-starting France to get into the lead. But Remi Di Girolamo and Jeremie Azou of France did not let go. These two boats powered through the middle of the race together with Germany able to do it by slightly underrating the French. The Germans had planned their race better and they managed to shake off France towards the end to take the one qualifying spot.

The reigning Olympic Champions, Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter of Great Britain raced in heat four and it looked as if the duo were not pushed too hard in their leading position. Purchase and Hunter had China on their tails, but did enough to hold the handy leading position. Both Great Britain took their rating down in the last 100m of the race, China conceding the qualifying spot to the British.

Men’s Four (M4-) – Heats

The men’s four opened with four heats. The top boat only from each heat would get to take a direct path to the semifinal on Saturday and at the end of the heats it looked like this event could go in a new direction with New Zealand’s number two, and newcomer crew, walking away with the fastest qualifying time.

Reigning World Champions, Great Britain opened by taking out heat one. But to do this they had to shake off France, with World Champion from the double, Jean-Baptiste Macquet sitting in bow. By the half-way point, Great Britain (Partridge, Egington, Gregory and Langridge) had a very slender lead over the French. Then in the second half Great Britain broke away and crossed the line easily in front of France. Great Britain qualify for the semifinal.

Heat two saw Serbia finish in almost an identical time to the British in heat one. Serbia has already picked up one medal this season. They won silver at the Rowing World Cup in Bled, but slipped back to ninth in Munich. To get to the lead Serbia had to push past Canada and Germany. But meanwhile, the crowd support was behind Argentina who sat solidly in fourth. This regatta has attracted a record 54 countries with a strong showing from South America. It was Serbia, however, that finished first to qualify for the semifinal.

A United States battle went on in heat three when USA One and USA Two took over the leading two spots and in their battle to be first the two American crews moved right away from the rest of the field. This could well be a test for the two US crews to see who will be selected for the team. At the finish USA One of Inman, Rummel, Newlin and Lanzone took first and earned a spot in the semifinal.

Rounding out the heats, heat four featured New Zealand’s up-and-coming second boat of Hammond, Harris, Seymour and Williams. Going through the first 60 strokes of the race there was barely anything between the five boats. Then Italy slipped back with New Zealand moving out to a lead over Olympic silver medallists, Australia. New Zealand then decided to leave the field behind them and coming into the final straight they had open water. Slovenia tried to close the gap, but New Zealand had enough of a margin to cross the line first and qualify for the semifinal in the fastest qualifying time.

Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls (LW2x) – Heats

The four heats in the lightweight women’s double meant that only the winner would get a direct path to the semifinal. All other crews would get a second chance this afternoon in the repechage with the only redeeming feature being that these lightweights do not have to weigh in for a second time in one day.

Hester Goodsell and Sophie Hosking of Great Britain wear the yellow jersey of the leading World Cup crew after picking up two medals this season, the last one being gold. Today they raced in heat one. For the opening of the race a tight battle went on between the top five crews. By the second 1000m this had all changed with Great Britain in the lead and only Italy and the Netherlands within attacking distance. As Goodsell and Hosking moved away from the rest of the field, the Netherlands and Italy held their own battle for second. This battle did not manage to catch up to the British. Goodsell and Hosking go on to the semifinal.

The fastest of the four heats happened in heat two with Daniela Reimer and Anja Noske of Germany being the boat to make that happen. Reimer and Noske finished third at last month’s Rowing World Cup and they may go better this time after the results from today’s race. Leading from start to finish Reimer and Noske held off an early challenge from Poland and Australia and then did just enough to remain in front where they could keep an eye on the field. Coming into the finish line the Germans could afford to cruise, crossing the line in the qualifying position.

Belgium’s Jo Hammond and Evi Geentjens have been plugging away together for a couple of seasons and they raced at the head of the field in heat three. Hammond and Geentjens had to shake off the Chinese to find the lead and in the second half of the race China had nothing to give, seemingly resigned to second place. A sharp and relaxed looking Belgian boat qualifies for the semifinal after finishing first.

Canada’s new combination of Katya Herman and Tracy Cameron raced their first international race today in heat four and they did it with absolute class. Herman at 37 is just beginning her international career while Cameron is an Olympic bronze medallist. This mix of experience and newness worked with the crew overtaking a fast starting Greece to take the lead and move far ahead of the rest of the field. Cameron and Herman qualify for the semifinal on Saturday.

Men’s Double Sculls (M2x) – Heats

This event has attracted a huge field of 27 boats and they began their road towards the final today in the six heats. The formula here was the top three boats in each heat would go to the quarterfinal this afternoon with the fourth place finisher making the quarterfinal depending on their time. 

The current World Cup leaders, Matthew Wells and Marcus Bateman of Great Britain opened up the proceedings in heat one. As temperatures continued to rise at the Rotsee, Wells and Bateman got into the lead with Italy and Slovenia the main challengers. By the half-way point Wells and Bateman had pulled away to a three-second lead and they continued to move away from the field. The British duo were beaten last week at the Henley Royal Regatta and it is likely that they will want to prove themselves on the Rotsee. The British were able to cruise into the finish while Italy and Slovenia fought it out. Great Britain, Italy, Slovenia and Denmark qualify for the quarterfinal.

The order was sorted out pretty early on in heat two. Poland’s Michal Sloma and Wiktor Chabel took the leading position. Sloma, 28, began his season in the single and then moved into the double with Chabel for the second Rowing World Cup where they finished in the B-final. Today Sloma and Chabel crossed the line in first and looked happy, high-fiving each other, perhaps for finishing ahead of the Americans who where fourth at Rowing World Cup II. The United States took out second and qualify for the quarterfinal along with Croatia and South Korea.

Heat three was won by New Zealand’s new doubles combination, Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan. Cohen and Sullivan come to Lucerne after racing at the Henley Royal Regatta and training on the 2012 Olympic regatta course at Eton Dorney, near London. The New Zealanders overtook a fast-starting Estonia One of Allar Raja and Kaspar Taimsoo to take the lead and maintain it. World bronze medallists Raja and Taimsoo finished in second with USA Two also qualifying.

The fourth heat recorded the fastest qualifying time when winners of the double at the Henley Royal Regatta, Cedric Berrest and Julien Bahain of France, found themselves under threat from Norway. Berrest and Bahain, who were second in the world in 2009 started out in the lead, but only just over Australia and Norway. Going through the middle of the race there was still very little in it with all three crews fighting for the lead. Coming into the final sprint the French looked ruffled as Norway’s Nils Jakob Hoff and Kjetil Borch continued to challenge. France managed to cross the line just ahead of Norway. Both these crews qualify for the quarterfinal along with Australia. Bahain looked dejected at the finish despite holding the lead.

All four crews in heat five left the starting blocks together and with 60 strokes rowed they remained in a virtual line, Argentina showing just a slight advantage. As China dropped back, Argentina’s Ariel Suarez and Cristian Rosso continued to hold a slight lead over Switzerland and Estonia Two. Buoyed by the sound of cow bells, Andre Vonarburg and Florian Stofer of Switzerland continued to work hard to the line. So did Argentina, while Estonia seemed content to qualify from third. At the line Switzerland had just pipped Argentina. Both boats qualify for the quarterfinal along with Estonia Two.

The current World Champions Eric Knittel and Stephan Krueger of Germany raced in heat six for their first international race this season. Knittel comes back from injury and will be tested here on the Rotsee. Krueger and Knittel got out in front at the start but had Brazil and the Czech Republic totally on their case. By the middle of the race Krueger and Knittel managed to shake off Brazil with the Czechs still sticking to them. In the slowest heat of the six, Krueger and Knittel crossed the line first with the Czech Republic only a couple of seconds back. Both boats qualify for the quarterfinal this afternoon along with Brazil and Greece.

Men’s Lightweight Four (LM4-) – Heats

Like the men’s double, this event attracted enough boats to fill six heats, so, like the men’s double these crews were racing to make the quarterfinals this afternoon. In most cases this meant not coming last.

Italy led the way in heat one, but this lead was soon under threat from the Australians. Italy tried to hold on to Edwards, Skipworth, Tunevitsch and Beltz of Australia but did not quite manage the same speed. Australia crossed the line in first and recorded the fastest qualifying time. Australia, Italy, Japan and the United States are the crews to go to the quarterfinals.

The reigning Olympic Champions Denmark found themselves up against a gutsy Austria in heat two. Austria has stepped up this season, hitting the A-final at last month’s Rowing World Cup and challenging the Danes definitely shows their new-found confidence. Austria led at the start and worked up to over two seconds ahead of Denmark through the middle of the race. Then they began to run out of steam and the Danes were able to push through to first at the line. Denmark, Austria, South Africa and Turkey will go to the quarterfinal.

Heat three was very close at the start with four lanes of boats very close together. Then India began to drop off the pace with the Czech Republic holding a slight lead over the Netherlands. The Dutch are enjoying the support of a fan club dressed in orange feather scarves and hats and by the third 500m they had found the lead. Brothers Vincent and Tycho Muda with Roeland Lievens and Timothee Heijbrock make up the Dutch boat and their solid sprint earned them an open-water lead at the line. The Czech Republic and Spain also qualify for the quarterfinal from second and third respectively.

Winners of last month’s Rowing World Cup, Great Britain, raced in heat four and found themselves under threat from France and China through the body of the race with France holding a slight leading margin. As the boats pushed into the second half of the race, Great Britain did a piece that accelerated them into the lead leaving France to be the chasers. France tried, but Great Britain held on to first to the line. Great Britain, France and China qualify for the quarterfinal this afternoon with Great Britain recording the fastest qualifying time.

Heat five brought the crowd to their feet with Switzerland leading from start to finish, and leading handily. Serbia and Argentina did their best to keep up with Switzerland, but by the second half of the race they found themselves slipping back. But it could have been a strategic decision with these crews having to row again this afternoon in the quarterfinal. With Iraq off the pace, Switzerland, Serbia and Argentina move on to the quarterfinal.

The heat of the day was really kicking in now as the reigning World Champions, Germany, took to the water for heat six. Germany has been struggling this season and are missing Matthias Schoemann-Finck due to injury. But today they led from start to finish with very little challenges coming their way. The finishing order was Germany, Australia Two, Poland and Denmark Two.

Women’s Quadruple Sculls (W4x) – Heats

This event attracted 10 entries which were divided into two heats. The top two from each heat got to go directly to Sunday’s final. The World Cup leaders, Great Britain, raced against the reigning World Champions, Ukraine, in heat one. Ukraine has not been able to beat the British all season and today they did their best to change the trend. At the start Ukraine shot out in front of Great Britain with these two crews leaving the rest of the field far behind. By the half-way point Great Britain managed to just get ahead and then took off. There seemed to be nothing Ukraine could do, despite two of the British crew already rowing earlier today in the double. Great Britain and Ukraine go directly to the final with Ukraine looking decidedly disappointed by their second-place result.

Germany won at the Rowing World Cup in Munich last month but have changed their crew again for this race in Lucerne. They raced in heat two and found themselves behind China coming out of the start. China continued to lead through the body of the race before a piece by the Germans in the third 500m of the race gave them the lead. Then China, who were rapidly running out of steam and looked like they were racing much harder than their boat speed gave them credit for, were overhauled by the United States. Germany and the United States take a direct path to Sunday’s final.

Men’s Quadruple Sculls (M4x) – Heats

This event had three heats with the top three in each heat earning a spot in tomorrow’s semifinal. Australia led the way in heat one with a crew built around Olympic Champion (from the men’s double) David Crawshay. But the lead did not last long. By the half-way point Germany had moved in front and started to move away from the Australians. Meanwhile the United States were trying to shake off Belarus to hold on to the third qualifying spot. The final sprint showed who was handling the heat the best. Germany looked comfortable and did just enough to cross the line in first. Australia kept the pressure on and finished second with the United States holding on to third. These are the three qualifying boats from the heat that registered the fastest qualifying time.

Croatia has not lost a race all season and today they raced in heat two. Croatia do not often lead at the start and they came out of the blocks in third behind Russia and Ukraine. By the middle of the race the Croatians had overtaken Ukraine and moved into second with their sights fixed firmly on Russia. Coming into the final sprint David Sain, Damir Martin and Martin and Valent Sinkovic of Croatia got hold of the lead cruising to the line to qualify from the front. Russia and Ukraine also qualify for the semifinal.

The Olympic and World Champion crew Poland is not having a good season. Today they raced in heat three against Great Britain and looked to be struggling while Great Britain cruised through to the finish looking confident and underrating Poland. Italy followed the two leaders but were off the pace in third. Qualifiers from first Great Britain looked relaxed at the finish while Poland looked tired and bent over. Still Poland moves on to the semifinal along with Italy.