BOAT RACE: OXFORD v CAMBRIDGE
Venue:
River Thames, London
Date:
Sunday 29 March
Start:
1540 BST
Coverage:
Watch live on ITV1, updates on BBC Radio 5 Live
Cambridge students face Olympic stars in training
|
By Martin Gough
|
Oxford are favourites for Sunday's 155th Boat Race but Cambridge know they still have a chance of victory in the unpredictable event on the Thames.
Last year's winners boast the heaviest crew in the event's history, with five members who raced at the 2008 Olympics.
"I really believe on a good day it will take an incredibly good crew to stop them," said Oxford coach Sean Bowden.
Cambridge have had their preparations hit by injuries and illness and have had to juggle their line-up.
Olympic star James tips Cambridge
GB development squad member Tom Ransley has returned to the crew after a spell out with back trouble, while American Ryan Monaghan missed training on Friday afternoon.
But Olympic star Tom James, who has done the race four times and spent some time coaching this year's squad, believes the unique pressure of the event could favour the Light Blues.
"Oxford should by all accounts win against an inexperienced crew who will probably be wearing GB vests in the future," James told BBC Sport.
"But the thing about the Boat Race is it sometimes favours the underdog. It puts more pressure on the favourites and, because it's a one-on-one match, there's nowhere to hide.
"Oxford are going to have to perform, whereas Cambridge can just go out and do their best."
The bendy, 4.25-mile course from Putney to Mortlake on the River Thames calls for more complex tactics than on a straight, 2,000m international rowing course.
And it demands more from the coxes, who must steer and implement a complex tactical plan, with the aim of helping their crew capitalise when the course hands them an advantage.
 |
Maybe the Oxford crew is a little more powerful than the British Olympic eight was but we're obviously not as slick or well-drilled
Colin Smith
Oxford president and GB silver medallist |
Usually one crew makes a decisive move in the middle of the course but both coaches have warned their crews to expect a battle right the way to the finish line.
"You try to win it on the last stroke and you're ready to win it on the last one," Bowden explained.
"Generally the races are sorted in the second half. It's a race about sustaining pace and being able to make the most of your opportunities as they come."
Cambridge have a strong start, shown when they went up early against a crew of Olympic sculling finalists in two training races last week - they won one and lost one.
Coach Chris Nilsson told BBC Sport: "We've got to get off the start well and clean.
|
OLYMPIANS IN OXFORD CREW
Colin Smith
(GB, silver in eight),
Sjoerd Hamburger
(NED, 13th in single scull),
Tom Solesbury
(GB, 13th in pairs),
George Bridgewater
(NZ, bronze in pair),
Ante Kusurin
(CRO, semi-finals in double scull)
|
"But it's through the second half of the race that the grit's got to come in, and maintaining composure and technique."
Training for the race began in September but Oxford had a slow start as they struggled to bring together rowers with experience in different styles and approaches.
Colin Smith, who sat in the key stroke seat of the Great Britain eight that won Olympic silver, was moved back to the two seat in favour of Croatian Ante Kusurin.
And the Dark Blues have impressed many observers with their power and speed over the last month.
Smith is one of six members of the Oxford crew whose preparations have been hit by exams - four of them had key tests for their Masters in Business Administration courses this week.
"Maybe the Oxford crew is a little more powerful than the British Olympic eight was," said Smith.
"We're obviously not as slick or well-drilled because that eight had three sessions every day and we have one.
"But that crew got along very well and really brought the best out of each other despite a lot of differences and it's similar with this crew."
Of the change in crew order, Smith said: "Of course there's a massive pride thing about stroking a boat but pride is not important when it comes to winning races.
"Ante and I are fantastic friends and he is an outstanding stroke man, and quite frankly a better man for the job than I am.
"My role is to be one of a fantastic crew and we're very confident we've got the right people in the right seats."
The most experienced member of the Cambridge crew is cox Rebecca Dowbiggin, who steered them to victory in 2007 but suffered a six-length reverse last year.
She has been part of the Great Britain squad for the last two years, winning medals with development crews at the European Championships.
But she says Sunday's event will be her last big race as the drive to take part in the Olympics is not the same as the Boat Race.
"I've had a bit of a think and decided I'm not going to pursue a career in coxing so this is my last opportunity to achieve something as a cox," she told BBC Sport.
"I learned to cox at Cambridge University, my idols were always the Blue Boat and that was the boat I always wanted to cox.
"I don't have the same desire to cox at the Olympics. I know that sounds crazy but for me it was always the Boat Race so I can't think of a better way to finish it."
Boat Race crews:
Oxford: Michal Plotkowiak, Colin Smith, Alex Hearne, Ben Harrison, Sjoerd Hamburger, Tom Solesbury, George Bridgewater, Ante Kusurin, cox: Colin Groshong
Cambridge: Rob Weitemeyer, Henry Pelly, Tom Ransley, Peter Marsland, Deaglan McEachern, Hardy Cubasch, Ryan Monaghan, Silas Stafford, cox: Rebecca Dowbiggin
No comments:
Post a Comment