FISA Team Cup, February 24-25th 2001, Seville, Spain
Life after Redgrave began this weekend, as the GB men's heavyweight squad returned to their winning ways after the winter's training. Nobody could call the post-Olympic FISA Team Cup in Seville a major hurdle, but the GB oarsmen leapt it with elegance, fulfilling expectations of victory all over the place, and just losing out in the overall Team Cup. This Victor Ludorum, which went to Spain by two points, was more a matter of the numbers game, as the hosts were able to enter every category, while the British men had no women and lightweights racing to add to their total. Mission not quite accomplished, therefore, but a good start to the 2001 and Athens campaigns.
Although the men's eight raced commandingly unbeaten all weekend over both 1000 and 500 metres, a fair amount of reshuffling and doubling up allowed the coaches to get a look at new combinations in the smaller shells. Matthew Pinsent and the recently-changed-to-bowside James Cracknell raced with panache to win both days, and doubled up with Louis Atrill & Ed Coode on Saturday to take the coxless fours title too. This four was unable to race the Danish lightweights, who were late to the start on Saturday, but a second variation had that pleasure on Sunday, when Sydney spare men Toby Garbett and Steve Williams joined Matt and James in the four. The Danes, with a new stroke but featuring the return of their injured two-man, led the Brits most of the way, but were hunted down to the line, where GBR's charge took the race by a foot.
In the men's pairs, Pinsent and Cracknell were largely unchallenged both days: the presence of Olympic gold medallists Andrieux and Rolland said more about the lure of retirement and their wish for a short holiday, although they still finished fourth. Under-23 British hopefuls Dan Ouseley and Henry Adams came third in the Saturday pairs race, and Ouseley teamed up with Alex Partridge in a second U-23 combination to take silver on Sunday.
Of the scullers, Matthew Wells shone out, as is becoming his habit, with a solid win on both days. Sculling in his wake were Ian Lawson and Tim Foster, who finished in that order at both distances (2nd and 4th, then 3rd and 4th), despite Tim saying "I thought I'd beaten Ian but it was pretty tight" as the Sunday sprint ended in a photofinish. Wells also doubled with both, coming 3rd with Foster in the 2x over 1000 metres, and 7th with Lawson at 500 metres. This event was perhaps the most competitive of the lot, featuring Olympians and medallists in the shape of both halves of the Italian quad, plus half of each of the Dutch and Belgian 4x. For the rest, most crews with the exception of the eight had stiff competition from at least one country, although obviously the number of teams entered did not accurately reflect the European standard. Germany brought only their women, and the French team was absent apart from the pair.
As part of a training camp, such a regatta has uses beyond the bare results. It will have been reassuring for Grobler to see Cracknell in action at race pace on bowside, to try out new options within the sweep and sculling squads, and also to remind the world that his oarsmen are back on track without a stutter following the retirement of Sir Steve.
Business as usual then fellas: here comes Team GB - all over again.
Copyright Rachel Quarrell 2001