It’s finally upon us. The event the whole of the winter season has been building up towards. A total of 36 championship quads from a whole array of different clubs will line up on the Tideway and prepare to take on the 6.8km winding stretch of river. It’s the most important race of the season so far and the win is all to play for. Here’s an overview of the crews to watch out for.
The Windsor Boys’ School
Windsor Boys are leading the pack. Windsor Boys have two successive wins at Henley Royal Regatta under their belt but after a 2nd place finish at Schools’ Head last season, they will be determined to come out on top this time around. We haven’t seen much of Windsor so far this season as they’ve been hiding away from the rest of the field, but we know they are always fast, so this crew is undoubtedly going to be technically sharp and move the boat quick through the water. The boat is under the name Oliver Traynor, who raced for the Schools’ J16 quad at National’s last season and finished in the B final. We all know the step up from J16 to champ is a huge jump to make, but Windsor Boys’ program will allow for a smooth transition for these athletes making this jump and they will certainly be putting out a crew challenging for the top spot on Friday.
Leander Club
Leander are chasing down Windsor Boys’. They will be fierce, aggressive and looking to overtake Windsor Boys’ as early into the race as possible. Could Leander win on Friday? They certainly could, but they will need to execute their race plan to perfection. Yesterday, at Reading University Head, Leander posted a strong time, only 7 seconds behind Reading Uni’s top quad. However, they could have been a lot faster. The high winds appeared to throw them off focus as they didn’t look as sharp as they could have done, and a questionable line down the final straight definitely cost them a few seconds over the course of the race. If Leander get it right on Friday, they could definitely win, as their squad has the strength, depth and calibre to take them to victory. However it’s all going to come down to their performance on the day as to whether they can steal the win or not.
Westminster School
I have a strong suspicion Westminster’s focus will be back on the 8 this season, however they are leaving their options open by putting a quad out to race as well. While the chances of a top 5 finish on Friday is looking promising for their 8, a top 5 finish for the quad is looking much less likely. A 6th place finish at Hammersmith Head indicates they won’t be one of the frontrunners this Friday, however this quad will be looking to have a strong race and finish with a decent result in the middle of the pack.
Tideway Scullers’ School
A 21st position finish last season at Schools’ Head is not the desirable result Tideway Scullers’ would have been aiming for. They’re back with 3 quads entered this season and will be aiming for a much stronger performance. Their top quad finished in 3rd place at their Hammersmith Head, just shy of Claire’s Court, and only 12 seconds behind Lea’s top combination. Their second crew was only a further 10 seconds back from their top combination and this indicates a large amount of depth to their squad this season. Their top crew will definitely be aiming for a top 5 finish on Friday and this certainly isn’t out of reach, and I reckon their second quad also has a good shot of finishing in the top 10 fastest crews.
Claires Court School
Claires Court have been somewhat out of the picture since their storming win in the Fawley Challenge cup a couple of seasons back. Tom Jost seems to have slightly struggled with the program since their triumphant win and since they lost their top athletes like Oliver Costley, they seem to have struggled to get themselves back on the podium. However, a strong 2nd place finish at the recent Hammersmith Head puts them back on the map and indicates that they will be one of the frontrunners on Friday. They have a chance of finishing in the top 3 if they execute their race plan to perfection, however I think seeing them in the top 5 in the results doesn’t seem unrealistic and seems like an achievable aim for them this Friday. As Claires Court have been forgotten about as one of the top contenders over the last couple of years, they will be looking to try and re-exert some dominance over the rest of the field and they are looking to be the underdogs on Friday.
Lea Rowing Club
There are quite a few “unknowns” in this category and Lea are amongst one of those crews. In the past, Lea has achieved success and strong results in the Fawley Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta however have never been leading the pack. This year, we could see a different turn of events as at the recent Hammersmith Head, Lea managed to secure the win and defeat the rest of the field, finishing 10 seconds ahead of Claires Court in 2nd place. This should give Ferraro and his crew the confidence required to achieve an extremely strong result on Friday. Lea will be looking to finish in the top 3, amongst the likes of Leander Club and Windsor Boys’ and this isn’t looking like it’s going to be out of reach for this crew. A top 3 finish at Schools’ Head would definitely set Lea up for a formidable season and if Lea manage to execute their race plan well on Friday, a medal position is definitely looking possible for this crew.
Henley Rowing Club
Balthasar Issa features in Henley’s championship combination on Friday. Last season, Issa and his crew took a 5th place finish at National Schools’ Regatta and they will be looking to improve upon this result on Friday. His crew posted a considerably slower time than Leander’s combination at Reading Uni Head, although racing in the separate divisions meant that Henley had calmer yet slower conditions to race in. Henley’s championship crew looked particularly clean and sharp racing yesterday on the Reading stretch and I think this will aid them if tricky conditions present themselves on Friday. Henley will almost certainly be going out to win on Friday. I think they face tough competition against Windsor Boys’ and Leander as well as a range of other crews who are looking to be particularly quick, however I definitely think Henley can come away with a top 5 finish on Friday, if not a podium position.
Gloucester Hartpury
Gloucester reached the Quarter Finals of the Fawley Challenge cup at Henley Royal Regatta last season, and they always present a strong combination in the summer season, which has powerful athletes in it, although technique is slightly compromised. This year, I expect no different. The Gloucester crew will be full of strong and powerful athletes, however, their program is geared to peak for Henley Royal Regatta so whilst I think we will see them perform and achieve strong results in the summer season, I think they may be slightly slower over a longer course and more endurance based race. We haven’t seen anything of them yet really this season and therefore it’s almost unpredictable to figure out where they are going to place on Friday, however I definitely think we will see them in the top 10 fastest times in the category.
Prediction
I think conditions will play a big part in the results this Friday, as some crews will be technically sharper and be able to cope much better in rough water than other crews can. However, here is my overall prediction for the crews which I think will take the top 5 spots:
5th place- Claires Court School
4th place- Lea RC
3rd place- Henley RC
2nd place- The Windsor Boys’ School
1st place- Leander Club
It’s looking like it’s going to be an extremely close one, and I imagine it will only be a matter of seconds separating the top placing crews. Let’s hope for favourable conditions and good luck to all of the quads racing on Friday!
EngineRoom
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