2025 World Rowing Cup Varese: crews to watch

A total of 39 nations and over 600 athletes are set to gather in Varese, Italy, between 13 and 15 June 2025 for the first World Rowing Cup of the year. Just a fortnight after the 2025 European Rowing Championships, it is a chance for the rest of the world to test their speed against newly crowned European champions.

A number of crews which featured at the European championships in Bulgaria will not race in Varese: in particular, Greece and Romania are sitting this one out, and France and Ireland are sending just one crew each in para-rowing events. However, several nations are taking the chance to race as many boats as possible, either by doubling athletes up or entering two boats in an event.

Home nation Italy have the biggest entry, with a total of 31 crews including a boat in the test event for the mixed eight, where they will face Czechia, Germany and the USA. All athletes in the mixed eights are doubling up from other events.

The men’s single sculls – the largest event, with 31 entries – includes two scullers from each of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and Uruguay. The two Dutch entries are particularly interesting, with Olympic bronze medallist Simon van Dorp up against 2022 European single sculls champion and world silver medallist Melvin Twellaar.

But they face stiff competition from a roster of Olympians, including Belgium’s Tim Brys, Japan’s Ryuta Arakawa, Brazilian Lucas Verthein and the USA’s Jacob Plihal. Olympic men’s four silver medallist Logan Ullrich (New Zealand) is also making his international sculling debut.

On the women’s side, 2025 European champion Lauren Henry (Great Britain) gets to test her impressive speed against Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Anna Prakaten (Uzbekistan). Belgian sculler Mazarine Guilbert also looked on good form in Plovdiv.

Look out for the return of 2017 women’s quadruple sculls world champion Sophie Souwer, last seen on flat water winning the B-final in the women’s single sculls at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. At the age of 37, she is back after becoming a mother and has switched allegiance to Italy from the Netherlands.

The men’s pair sees the return of Croatia’s Olympic champions, Martin and Valent Sinkovic, into this boat class after they claimed men’s four silver at the European championships with Anton and Patrik Loncaric. The Loncaric twins are also racing the pair in Varese.

European silver medallists Nunzio di Colandrea and Giovanni Codato will certainly want to show their success in Plovdiv was no accident, and it will be fascinating to see how quickly Olympic men’s quadruple sculls champions Lennart van Lierop and Finn Florijn will go in this event.

Under-23 men’s pair world champion Oliver Welch of New Zealand teams up with Benjamin Taylor this year, and faces another young duo in Toby Lassen and Felix Rawlinson (Great Britain), who together won under-23 men’s eights at the 2023 World Rowing Under 23 Championships – Lassen defending that title last year.

Both the European gold and silver medallists, Great Britain and Germany, race unchanged crews in the women’s quadruple sculls in Varese, but bronze medallists the Netherlands have shaken up their boat and brought in Tessa Dullemans from the double sculls.

In turn, Benthe Boonstra, who raced the single in Plovdiv, teams up with European champion Roos de Jong in Varese in the double. Among their competition are China’s Chen Yunxia and Zhang Ling, two-time world champions and Tokyo Olympic champions from the women’s quadruple sculls.

After Mateusz Biskup and Miroslaw Zietarski won European gold for Poland in the men’s double sculls, they return to the men’s quadruple sculls alongside fellow Olympic bronze medallist Dominik Czaja, and Piotr Plominski, who together with Czaja picked up European bronze in Plovdiv. The impressive British European champions and the ever-strong Italian quad will pose a challenge to the Poles.

The event will also see the senior debut for the latest generation of Australia’s Free dynasty – Jackson Free is hoping to follow in the wake of his uncle Duncan, father Marcus and grandfather Reginald in standing on international podiums in green and gold.

There are six entries in both the men’s and women’s eights, including a new-look USA women’s eight and an Australian women’s eight including several members of the crew which finished fourth in Paris. In the men’s eights, there is another tantalising race in store between Great Britain, Germany and Italy, this time with Australia, China and a second Italian boat also in the mix.

On the para-rowing front, the largest number of entries are in the PR1 men’s single sculls and the PR3 mixed double sculls. Paralympic and European champion Benjamin Pritchard (Great Britain) set a world best time in Plovdiv; European bronze medallist Giacomo Perini (Italy) and Austria’s David Holzweber are the only other two athletes also competing in Varese. But Australian Paralympic bronze medallist Erik Horrie makes his season debut, after a training camp just up the lake in Gavirate.

In the PR3 mixed double sculls, new world best time holders Kathrin Marchand and Valentin Luz of Germany are not competing; however, their compatriots, Paralympic bronze medallists Jan Helmich and Hermine Krumbein are. Paralympic and European silver medallists Samuel Murray and Annabel Caddick will want to get back to the top of the podium, while international debutants Lisa Greissl and Sam Stunell are stepping into the huge shoes of Australia’s Paralympic champions Jed Altschwager and Nikki Ayers.