Image credit: World Rowing
The first World Cup of any new season is often a bit of a tepid affair, with lots of straight finals or no races in some boat classes at all. But, this year, in Varese, it’s a different matter. Being Olympic year, and with the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta just five weeks away, Varese has drawn a huge and high quality field.
So, as always, I’ll look at each boat class and pick out the main contenders.
Entries: 12
The Netherlands dominated this event last season. Melvin Twellaar and Stefan Broenink only lost one race all season (finishing third at the European Championships). Their dominance may have been a contributing factor to the Sinkovic brothers’ decision to move back into the pair. This duo raced together at the Tokyo Olympics, winning silver behind the French. In 2022 Twellaar raced in the single, finishing as runner-up to Zeidler at the World Championships. Broenink raced in the M4X after the Tokyo Olympics but missed out on the podium at the 2022 Worlds.
With the Sinkovic’s no longer in the event, the main challengers to the Dutch are likely to be the Irish and Italians. Ireland is represented by Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle. Doyle was partnered by Ronan Byrne in 2019 and their silver medal was the first heavyweight men’s World Championship medal since Sean Drea won silver in the M1X in 1975! After a disappointing tenth in Tokyo and an even more disappointing 13th in 2022 Doyle teamed up with Lynch and returned to form in 2023, winning bronze at both the Lucerne World Cup and the World Championships.
Italy’s Luca Rambaldi and Matteo Sartori just missed the podium in 2023, ending up fourth. Rambaldi has been racing internationally since 2012 and was a member of the Italian M4X that won the World Championships in 2018. After finishing fifth at the Tokyo Olympics he raced with Davide Mumolo in the M2X but could only manage ninth. In 2023 he and Sartori came together, winning silver at the Europeans and gold at the second World Cup. Sartori was a member of the U23 BM4X that won the World Championships in 2022 and went on to race in the M1X at the Senior Worlds.
The M2x is one of only two GB open-weight men’s boats that have yet to qualify for the Paris Olympics. The task to try and achieve that via the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta falls to John Collins and Seb Devereux. This combination came together at the start of the 2023 season but were unable to race due to injury to Devereux. Collins is one of the most experienced members of the British team having been racing on the senior circuit since 2012. He’s aiming for his third Olympics and in Rio he and long-time partner, Jonny Walton, finished fifth. In Tokyo he went one better, this time partnered by Graeme Thomas. Last season, in Devereux’s absence, Collins was partnered by Aidan Thompson but their partnership wasn’t particularly successful and they ended the season in a disappointing 25th. Devereux was U23 World Champion back in 2017, but didn’t make his senior debut until 2022 (racing in the M4X at the second and third World Cups). It remains to be seen what sort of speed this new duo has, although word coming out of the British camp is that they have been showing very good form in training. If they can be on the coat-tails of the Italians, Irish and Dutch then that will put them in a good place heading into the FOQR.
Germany has qualified this boat for Paris. Their duo of Jonas Gelsen and Marc Weber finished eighth in 2023 to secure qualification. Gelsen won the BM1X World Championships in 2022 and made his senior debut last season. Weber is also a former U23 BM1X World Champion having won the title in 2019. He raced at the Tokyo Olympics with Stefan Krueger, finishing 11th.
Croatia qualified the boat for Paris thanks to the Sinkovic brothers, but with their move to the pair they swap with another set of brothers, Patrik and Anton Loncaric. This pair snatched the last automatic qualifying spot in the M2- after finishing 11th last year, so a straight swap with the Sinkovic’s hasn’t cost either set of brothers a place in Paris. The twins have only ever raced as a pair since winning the junior world title back in 2017. Time will tell how their fare with two blades each.
Australia has two boats entered in this event, both are development crews and part of Rowing Australia’s LA Olympics development programme (their senior M2X, David Bartholot and Marcus Della Marta will be racing at the FOQR). Racing as AUS1 is Mitchell Reinhard and Oscar McGuinness. Reinhard finished seventh in the BLM2X at the 2019 U23 World Championships and McGuinness raced in the LM2X at both the 2022 and 2023 World Championships finishing 16th on both occasions.
AUS2 is Harry Glackin and Hamish Harding. Glackin, from the Capital Lakes Rowing Club, makes his international debut in Varese, and Harding, from the Australian National University BC, raced in the LM1X at the 2022 World Championships, placing ninth.
Norway also has two boats entered in Varese. NOR1 is Jan Oscar Stabe Helvig and Kristoffer Brun. This dup qualified the boat for Paris after finishing ninth at the 2023 World Championships. Brun is one of the most experienced athletes in the field having made his senior debut back in 2007. He raced in the LM2X at the last three Olympics (winning bronze in Rio). Helvig raced in the M4X in Tokyo and in 2022 he partnered Mathias Foyner Wie to 12th in the M2X at the World Championships.
Norway’s second boat is Jonas Juel and Erik Solbakken. They were both members of the M4X that finished tenth last season. Solbakken also raced in the quad in Tokyo and Juel is a former U23 BM1X medallist who made his senior debut in 2022.
Scandinavia is also represented by crews from Sweden and Finland. Sweden has Jonas Richter and Hugo Nerud (18th in 2023) and Finland is represented by Juho-Pekka Petaejaeniemi and Jukka-Pekka Kauppi (22nd at the 2023 World Championships).
Prediction
I’d be surprised if the Dutch don’t take the gold and it should be a good battle between the Italians and Irish for silver and bronze with, I hope, the British snapping at their heels.
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