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The intermediate men at the Heineken Roeivierkamp always deliver strong racing, with the winners often competing closely with the elite men. This year’s event (MG8+) is packed with international entries. A total of 36 crews have entered, nearly half from the UK, Germany, Spain, France, and more. The furthest-traveling crew will be Riverside Boat Club, USA.
Last year’s winners and the organizers of this historic race, A.S.R. Nereus, have entered again, but with a predominantly new crew. Only three athletes are returning, along with a new cox. The same stroke man will lead them, Ben van den Eerenbeemt, who also stroked their first eight in The Temple Challenge Cup at last year’s Henley Royal Regatta. Having won consecutively for over five years, the pressure to dominate across all distances will be on.
Coming off a nine-second win at the Head of the Amstel race, G.S.R. Aegir has entered its top crew into this event and are the favourite going into the weekend. While they were off the pace last year, they have made strong developments over the winter. The crew is largely unchanged from last year, again stroked by Jelle Bakker, who didn’t attend the January trials due to illness but is now very much back, focusing instead on developing the club eight.
With fixture season over and less than a month until the Boat Race, Oxford University also attends this year’s Heineken. This boat is their second eight, composed mainly of development athletes who are newer to the team. Many come from strong junior programmes, so they will certainly be prepared to compete. The crew is coxed by the strong-voiced Tara Slade, who coxed the women’s Blue Boat in 2023 and has now stepped across to the men’s squad.
Thames Rowing Club are returning to the Heineken this year after entering only one crew last year. They are competing to win this event, as unlike other pre-season races, they haven’t entered mixed eights but rather a clear first and second eight. Their top crew will again be racing in the elite category. Their head coach, Alexander Smulders, a former coach at Nereus, is clearly confident in competing in such a demanding event early in the season. They will be looking to outperform the younger student eights.
Prediction
It’s a challenging year to predict a winner, with so many unknown contenders entering the race. The above crews are expected to perform at the top, but will they withstand the pressure? One thing is certain—the racing will be close. As for who will take the win, we’ll have to wait for the weekend when they all go down the track.
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