Serving as the only option for the majority of competitors wishing to take to the Henley waters in the quad scull, the Prince of Wales is often a toughly contested event right from the Friday of Qualifiers.
Alas, not this year, with only 17 entries this year there will be a single unlucky entrant who will not make it to the main draw. Considering the competitiveness of some of the other events this year, it’s an interesting notion to think that many clubs could have a better chance of qualifying a crew here – in an intermediate event – rather than at club, university, or junior level.
This does not diminish the quality present, however, as the latter rounds will as always provide some tight racing and feature some classy crews domestically and from abroad.
Algemene Groninger Studenten Roeivereniging Gyas & Utrechtsche Studenten Roeivereeniging Triton, Netherlands
Without being sure, I reckon this is a Dutch U23 boat, as we have seen come over in previous years with athletes representing the likes of Laga, Skoll, and this year Gyas and Triton. As we know, the Netherlands represents perhaps the highest density of high-level rowers in the world, with a staggering number of athletes constantly emerging through the ranks. This crew won LHE4x at the Bosbaan Regatta at the beginning of June and Maxim Den Boogert won the HG4x at the ZRB Roeiwedstrijden.
Club Nautique Chambery le Bourget du Lac, France
Another club which catches the eye on the entry list CNCB from France is one of the country’s premier clubs, particularly at junior level. They have had standout performances in recent times from homegrown athlete Florian Ludwig in the BM4x indicating a sculling pedigree at the club. Two of this crew also raced in the Senior Men’s Eight at the French National Championships, finishing second in their heat. Three of the crew were in the 2015 French LM8+
As far as this crew is concerned, it’s unclear how quick they will be. Due to Covid and a storm at the French national championship, this crew have not been able to complete a race together yet but
Danske Studenters Roklub, Copenhagen, Denmark
This crew from DSR, Copenhagen looks like a strong U23 level outfit, containing Magnus Timm who competed in the Men’s Double at last year’s U23 World Championships for Denmark. Joining him is Jakob Graenge Hansen, who has competed at the U23 Europeans while attending University of Washington.
Overall, this seems like a top quality U23 level crew, probably an equivalent to Leander in that regard, with two younger guys teaming up with two who have just moved out of the U23 age bracket.
Leander Club
This crew has competed together throughout the summer, winning Championship Quads at Wallingford Regatta and Marlow Regatta (not attending Met). The lineup of Keating, Costley, Ellery and Harris is incredibly strong, with several Henley wins between them most notably including Rory Harris’s win in the Queen Mother Challenge Cup last year when he sat in for Angus Groom in the quad that had just returned from Tokyo with a silver medal.
Leander won this event last year and have had a lot of success in it over recent years, they go in this year as the strongest UK crew without doubt, so it’ll be up to a foreign entry to take the top spot away from them.
Reading University Boat Club ‘A’
The powerhouse of UK university sculling, it wasn’t too long ago that Reading qualified four crews for the Prince of Wales, a quarter of the whole event. However, the club has struggled to assert itself at the sharp end of the competition, admittedly pitted against very strong competitors in the likes of Leander and U23 level crews from home and abroad.
This crew came second to Leander at Marlow, narrowly beating London RC who also have an entry in this event. In reality, I think Reading will only make it through a round, given the quality of the overseas crews attending.
Prediction
With some uncertainty over the international crews as always, this prediction comes with a caveat. From what I can see, the top three crews will be Leander, DSR Copenhagen, and Gyas & Triton. Out of the three I reckon that the Dutch will come out on top as I am loathe to predict yet another win from Leander in this event despite them being the home favourites.
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