*Hammersmith Head has been cancelled since this article was written*
Racing returns to the Tideway this Sunday 16th February as crews race the 5k course from Chiswick Bridge to Hammersmith Bridge. The WJ16 category is very small, with only four boats entered to race; of these, Marlow RC, Lady Eleanor Holles BC and Putney High School BC all raced each other only a few weeks ago at the Hampton Head so it will be interesting to see which of the crews have made the biggest improvements since then.
Marlow RC
Marlow RC will lead out this category on Sunday and following their 2nd place finish to LEH BC at the Hampton Head, will aim to use this to their advantage. The crew also notably placed 3rd at the Quintin Head in January so have shown consistency in their results so far this season, although I’m sure they will look to go one better as they challenge for the win.
Lady Eleanor Holles BC
Although they have only raced once as an eight so far this season, LEH will look to match their winning result from the Hampton Head two weeks ago. They were only 5 seconds ahead of the Marlow RC crew on that occasion and so it looks to be a tight contest as they follow them down the course on Sunday.
Putney High School BC
The crew from Putney High School placed 6th at the Quintin Head followed by a 4th place at the Hampton Head. On both occasions they were slightly off the times posted by Marlow RC and LEH BC however on a course similar to the one at Pairs Head early in the season, where some of their doubles placed 3rd, 4th and 5th in the WJ162x event, the crew will look to put in a strong performance.
Predictions
From previous results so far this season, I think this race will be a close contest between LEH BC and Marlow RC. All the crews will use this race to gain experience racing on the Tideway ahead of Schools’ Head next month, especially St Pauls Girls School BC who have yet to post any sweep results this year.
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