Henley Royal Regatta 2023 – The Wyfold Challenge Cup Preview

Holders: Thames Rowing Club

Entries: 60

The return of Henley Royal Regatta heralds the peak of the season for rowers across the country, and indeed, the world. Each one of the 2112 metres on the famous stretch of the Thames will see crews at full tilt, giving their all in pursuit of their dreams. For some, just being there is a dream in itself, while for others, nothing but the ultimate prize of a red box will do.

The scale of entries range across events, with some substantially undersubscribed, and others where just as many or more crews will face the disappointment of not qualifying at all than making it to the big show. The Wyfolds Challenge Cup for club men’s coxless fours is in the latter category, with 60 crews entered which must be reduced to 32 by the Qualifying Races.

In this preview, however, the focus will firmly be on the top contenders to win the event. These crews will not be concerned about qualifying, as they will all safely pre-qualify having demonstrated their quality throughout the season.

Cork Boat Club, Ireland

It’s great to see Irish representation in this event, as despite the country’s proximity to the UK we don’t typically see many Irish crews entering Henley Royal. Cork BC is one of the country’s premier clubs, competing regularly against the likes of University College Cork, University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin.

This crew travelled over for Met Regatta to gauge their position against the domestic crews, and would have been pleased with their sixth place finish in the A final of the Open Coxless Fours on the more competitive Saturday. This result puts them in the mix with the top crews entered in the Wyfolds, though the question remains as to how much they have stepped on in the last couple of weeks.

Koninklijke Amsterdamsche Roei-en Zeilvereeniging ‘De Hoop’, Netherlands

‘De Hoop’ return to Henley after a few years away, and they’ve come in force. They have a strong entry in the Thames Cup that could go the distance, and this crew looks equally, if not more so, competitive.

It appears that the crew has been mixing and matching with their Thames Cup eight, but judging on their results this crew is the stronger of the two. As a foursome, they have raced against the Nereus crew that we’ll see in the Visitors on two occasions and on both they only came up short by three seconds. Whether this indicates the quality of this crew or of Nereus, that’s up to the reader to decide.

Two members of the crew, Thijs Tas and Sander Bakker, came over to Henley in 2022 where they competed in the Ladies Plate and the Visitors, respectively, as part of composite university crews. Now racing as club-level athletes, they will bring that HRR experience into the Wyfolds for a serious crack at the win.

Lea RC

These guys are a dark horse in this event. Finishing a bit off the pace of the front-runners at Met, in the B final, Lea wouldn’t have been considered as a serious contender in the Wyfolds until they pulled a performance out of the bag at Marlow to beat Thames and finish as the second fastest Wyfolds crew.

Last year, Lea had a handy crew in the Wyfolds but an unlucky draw meant they raced Thames in the second round and went out on the Wednesday (the first round being on the Tuesday). For this reason, their victory over Thames at Marlow will give them confidence that they can overturn almost anyone they face. In fact, they may have done enough to gain a seeded place, which will significantly improve their chances of making it further into the regatta.

London Rowing Club

It makes a huge difference for a club like London RC where they put their top athletes. This year, they have opted for a top coxless four (though also worth noting they have a strong entry in the Prince of Wales), making a bid to win the Wyfolds and change up the winners’ narrative of recent years.

The crew has put in some very strong performances recently, most notably finishing third behind two Visitors crews (from Brookes and Molesey) on Met Saturday, which they repeated at Marlow Regatta despite stronger competition. This puts them in a great position as one of the favourites to win the Wyfolds, especially since the margin to the holders, Thames RC, was a healthy five seconds.

Los Gatos Rowing Club, U.S.A.

We have seen junior crews competing in the club events before, but since the rule change this year, most will now be competing in the P.E. for junior men’s eights. It’s interesting then, to see a junior crew from Los Gatos, USA, making the trip over to compete in the Wyfolds.

That they are juniors makes them no less competitive, however. This four has won a slew of silverware this season, including a second place at Youth Nationals and a win at the San Diego Crew Classic.

Last year Los Gatos made the trip over as well, competing in the Fawley Challenge Cup where they were knocked out by a strong crew from Hereford Cathedral School. Something tells me that in the four they will make it further.

Neusser Ruderverein, Germany

Based in Dusseldorf, Germany, Neusser Ruderverein have never been to Henley Royal before according to the HRR archives. This trip will be filled with excitement, then, for the four oarsmen taking to the course in the Wyfolds Challenge Cup.

This crew has raced as a unit throughout the season, as an eight with five of their teammates, and as a coxless four. They have raced at the Heineken Roeivierkamp earlier in the spring, finishing sixteenth in the eight, at the Ghent Spring Regatta (not to be confused with the Ghent International Regatta) finishing second in the four, and then at the Wedau International Regatta in Duisberg, where they finished tenth in the four.

It’s always tricky to compare apparently strong results from unfamiliar events to those from the domestic events we in the UK are more familiar with, but this seems like a quality crew that should be capable of making it through a couple of rounds at least.

Thames Rowing Club

With last year’s win in the Wyfolds and the Brit rendering a number of athletes ineligible, and the club’s prioritisation of the Thames Cup across the three club events, it looks as though Thames RC are not in such a position of strength in this event as they might like.

Their Wyfolds crew was beaten by both London and Lea at Marlow, a concerning result for a club that will settle for nothing but the top spot, especially as we rapidly approach Henley. As mentioned above, they were about five seconds off these two crews, but they had an unfavourable lane, which will have made things harder for the men in black.

While their results so far this season have not indicated Henley-winning quality, one would be foolish to count out a club with such impressive strength and depth. Thames will be a contender, and will make it through a few rounds, but it remains to be seen whether they have the quality to repeat last year’s victory.

Prediction

The Wyfolds is usually one of the hardest events to predict at Henley. Of course, Thames, Molesey, and the like will always be good, but this year neither of them go in as favourites based on recent results.

Assuming the draw allows, I reckon the two crews that will make the final will be London RC and ‘De Hoop’ from the Netherlands. This tees up a refreshing race with a domestic crew that hasn’t won at HRR in a while, and a strong overseas entrant, made up of decorated oarsmen. This match up would be intriguing, but my vote goes the way of the Dutch to win the event overall.

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