Linz, June 2018

WORDS RACHEL QUARRELL

Robbie Manson (NZL), winner of the men’s single, powers off the start in Linz

PHOTOGRAPHY IGOR MEIJER/WORLD ROWING

World cup regattas are tricky to analyse. Nations and athletes peak at different times, some train straight through, and trying to wrangle conclusions out of results can be like eating jelly with a one-pronged plastic fork.

Following Linz, yet another feast of excellent racing (but in a venue which will need to double its space and resources if it’s going to cope with hosting the 2019 world champs), we do at least know a few things. New Zealand’s women haven’t got any slower since September, and Australia’s centralised system may be paying off. Italy’s 2017 strength was no fluke, and China’s top crews have mastered the art of the sprint finish for once.

The change between Belgrade and Linz largely consisted of newcomers New Zealand, Australia and Italy nabbing eight Olympic-class gold medals between them. Granted, some notable crews were absent, including the Lithuanian M2x, sculler Ondřej Synek and Canada’s W2-, but it was enough to demonstrate that the Dutch had got rather lucky in Belgrade, even if the refocusing of their small boats into eights partly accounted for the drop in metalware.