There are only two noteworthy additional junior crews in this event, so this will be brief. Abingdon School have entered an eight into IM3, but it is likely to be a relatively mixed crew since the top players will be in Boston competing at GB Trials. If we judge them by their second eight this season, that crew placed third last in the relatively small J18 category at Quintin Head, which would suggest that the crew will not be making a significant impact on Saturday. Bedford School have not been seen since Wallingford Head where their first eight result, while sub-standard considering the high quality of their first eight last season, was apparently subject to a technical issue. With this in mind, I would expect a much improved result from Bedford in this race, and I think they may just have an edge over Abingdon due to the fact that their crew will not be missing so many key athletes, and they will have had some practice with the all-important steering of the Tideway course from training there on the Friday.
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