2021 World Rowing Cup III – Men’s Preview

Time for the third and final World Cup of the 2021 season, the last major regatta before the Tokyo Olympics. This year the host is Sabaudia in Italy, hosting a major international regatta for the first time. It’s a natural, brackish lake 100KM from Rome and just a stone’s throw from the Mediterranean Sea.

The entries are pretty good considering the proximity of the Olympics and it’s a good mix of crews who are using it as final preparation for Tokyo, others who aren’t going to the Games but perhaps have the World Championships in October in their sights, and others who are using it to give experience to U23 or development crews. Still no women’s 8 entries though, there haven’t been any in all of the World Cups….a first (and not a good one).

Anyway, as always here’s my guide to those racing in each of the Olympic Class events…..

M1X

23 Scullers

Out of a field of 23 there are 8 who have qualified for Tokyo. Obviously all eyes will be on the “big 3”, Ollie Zeidler of Germany, Sverri Nielsen of Denmark and Kjetil Borch of Norway. Zeidler is unbeaten (in finals) so far this season, and to be honest no one has got close to him when the conditions are good.  Nielsen was runner-up to Zeidler in Lucerne and at the European’s this season. Borch has been improving as the season progresses, 6^th in Varese was disappointing, but he’s medalled at both World Cups and will be looking to make it a hattrick in Italy.

Outside of these three, the sculler with a lot to prove is Poland’s Natan Wegrzycki-Szymczyk. He was the hot favourite to qualify for Tokyo at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta, but it was a huge shock when he could only manage 4^th after having medalled at both the 2020 and 2021 European Championships. He’ll be looking to rebuild his season and will most definitely be focussing on the World Championships in Shanghai in October.

Another Tokyo-bound sculler is Damir Martin of Croatia. The Rio silver medallist was 14^th at the 2020 Europeans but improved to 5^th in 2021 and made the podium at the Zagreb World Cup.

Italy have two scullers racing, as they did at the 2^nd World Cup, Simone Martini and Gennaro di Mauro. Martini qualified the boat for Tokyo with a 9^th place finish at the 2019 World Championships. But he looks to have a battle on his hands to secure the seat in Tokyo. 20-year-old di Mauro made his senior debut this season and finished 10^th at the European Championships. At the Lucerne World Cup he outperformed his more experienced team-mate with another 10^th place whereas Martini was pushed back to the C-Final. Sabaudia could well be the decider for who gets selection for Tokyo.

Great Britain are using this World Cup to give international experience to some new athletes as part of their “Project Paris” development programme. They have two scullers racing, Jack Burns and George Bourne. Burns, from Edinburgh University, makes his international debut having performed well at the recent trials. He’s won a number of top domestic regattas in the UK, including the 2019 Marlow Champ 1X and he lost to Zeidler in the 1^st round of the Diamond Sculls at Henley that year.

Bourne was an U23 World Champion in 2019, and is the final member of the gold medal BM4X to make his senior debut (the others being Sam Meijer, Josh Armstrong and Matt Haywood).

Germany also have a 2^nd sculler competing, Stephan Riemekasten. He competed in both World Cups in the M2X with Moritz Woolf finishing 7^th in Zagreb and 9^th in Lucerne (he also doubled-up in the M1X in Lucerne but didn’t progress beyond the quarterfinals).

There are several other scullers racing who have qualified for Tokyo via their respective continental qualifying regattas; Lucas Verthein Ferreira of Brazil, Kouadio N’Dri of the Ivory Coast and Alvaro Torres Masias of Peru.

My prediction…hard to look past Zeidler as always, but with Wegrzycki-Szymczyk having a big point to prove it could be a good battle for silver and bronze between him, Nielsen and Borch. I’m going for the Dane in silver and the Pole in 3^rd.

M2X

9 crews

There are three crews racing who are headed to Tokyo, Switzerland, Poland and Germany (The Netherlands and Great Britain are also racing but not with their Olympic crews).

Of the three, Switzerland have been showing the best form so far this season. Barnabe Delarze and Roman Roeoesli were 4^th at the European Championships and took bronze in Zagreb and then 5^th in Lucerne. Poland’s Mateusz Biskup and Mirolsaw Zietarski have been having good battles with the Swiss all season. At the Europeans they finished one place behind Delarze and Roeoesli but in Zagreb they were one place ahead. At the Lucerne World Cup they missed out on an A-Final place in a close semi-final (which included the Swiss). It’ll be fun watching these two closely matched boats going head-to-head again.

Germany have Marc Weber and Stephan Krueger. Weber was U23 BM1X World Champion in 2019 (a title his crewmate also won 12 years earlier!) Krueger is a three-time Olympian and former World Champion in this event. As a double he and Weber have a best placing of 4^th at the Zagreb World Cup following a 9^th place at the Europeans.

As mentioned above, neither The Netherlands or Great Britain are racing with their Olympic crews. The Netherlands have Willem van Kuijk and Lennart van Lierop. This dup raced at the Zagreb World Cup finishing 6^th. Great Britain’s crew is Victor Kleshnev and Rory Harris, both of whom are making their senior international debuts. Kleshnev, from Maidenhead Rowing Club, is a two-time junior World medallist and raced at the U23 World Championships in 2019. Harris, from Leander Club, raced at the European U23’s in 2018.

Italy also have two boats racing. In ITA1 is Luca Chiumento and Nicolo’ Carucci. They missed qualifying for the Olympics after finishing 6^th at the Final Olympic Qualifying Regatta and also this season took 8^th at the European Championships. Chiumento was U23 World Champion in the BM4X in 2019 and Carucci won bronze in the JM2X at the 2019 Junior World Championships. ITA2 is another young double with 2019 U23 BM4X bronze medallist Gustavo Ferrio partnered by international debutant Riccardo Mattana.

Also racing are Finland’s Jukka-Pekka Kauppi and Antti Koiranen and Egypt’s Mohamed Elshahawi and Taimur Cantoni, 19^th and 20^th at the Lucerne World Cup respectively.

My picks…..should be a good battle between Switzerland and Poland for gold. I’m going for Switzerland for the win with Poland in 2^nd and Germany 3^rd.

M2-

11 crews

This should be a relatively straightforward win for the Sinkovic brothers from Croatia. The reigning World and European champions have looked very comfortable this season winning at their home World Cup in Zagreb and the Europeans in Varese.

Italy finished 2^nd to the Croatians in Varese and were also runners-up in Lucerne. However, they have made a change to the crew racing in Sabaudia. Matteo Lodo moves over to the M4- swapping places with Giovanni Abagnale. Abagnale was bronze mdellist in this boat class at the Rio Olympics, and together he and Guiseppe Vicino were 4^th at the 2019 European Championships. It’s an interesting move by the Italians as Abagnale has been rowing in the M4- since the 2019 World Championships. The Italians have also entered a 2^nd pair of Matteo Castaldo and Bruno Rosetti. They, along with Vicino and Lodo are also entered in the M4-. Castaldo, Vicino and Rosetti were bronze medallists in the M4- in Rio.

France have been having a selection battle between two sets of brothers all season. The Onfory’s were the more established pair, but withdrew from the Lucerne World Cup for medical reasons. So it is down to the Turlan brothers, Thibaud and Guillaume, to lead France’s challenge in Sabaudia. The twins have raced in the pair all season, taking 6^th at the Europeans, silver in Zagreb and 5^th in Lucerne. A good performance in Sabaudia may well secure their place on the French Olympic team. France have a 2^nd crew racing, their U23 pairing of Teo Rayet and Louis Chamorand.

Great Britain have two exciting young crews racing. Calvin Tarczy and Douwe de Graaf are racing as GBR1. They have been rowing together for years having both been members of the truly outstanding St Paul’s School 1^st VIII in 2018 that was, in my opinion, the finest schoolboy 8 ever, both going on to win Junior world Championship gold before both attending Harvard. GBR2 is James Vogel and Ryan Todhunter. Vogel was a member of the British U23 team in 2018 finishing 8^th in the BM2-. Todhunter makes his international debut in Sabaudia, he learnt to row at Durham University and is now a member of Leander Club.

Croatia have a 2^nd pair racing, another set of brothers, Anton and Patrik Loncaric. They were junior world champions in 2017 and raced in the M4- at the 2021 Europeans and 1^st World Cup.

Germany are another of the “big” rowing nations that failed to qualify this boat for Tokyo. Their pair of Friedrich Dunkel and Marc Kammann finished 5^th at the FOQR, but they are a young pair, both in their debut senior year so will be looking to progress on to the World Championships and have eyes on Paris 2024.

The Czech Republic have two rowers making their first appearances since the 2016 European Championships, Dmytro Baranivskyj and Adam Kapa, were both in the Czech M8 that finished 7^th back in 2016.

The final crew racing are Switzerland. Nicolas Kamber and Scott Baerlocher. Kamber raced in the M4- at the 2020 Europeans. Baerlocher is also entered in the M1X so it remains to be seen if he does in fact double-up or not. He raced in the M4- at the Zagreb World Cup that finished 4^th.

My picks…fairly easy to predict….the Sinkovic’s in gold with Italy 1 in silver and France in bronze.

M4-

7 crews

This looks to be a race of two parts. There are three Tokyo-bound crews, Italy, Poland and Switzerland along with four young development boats (two from GB, one from The Netherlands and a 2^nd Italian boat).

As mentioned above, the number 1 Italian boat are (mostly) doubling-up in the M2-. The crew is Matteo Lodo, Giuseppe Vicino, Bruno Rosetti and Matteo Castaldo. The core of this boat finished 3^rd at the European Championships and 4^th in Lucerne.

Poland have the same line up that won the World Championships in 2019 (Mateusz Wilangowski, Mikolaj Burda, Marcin Brzezinski and Michal Szpakowski). However, since that (somewhat surprise) victory in Linz, the Poles have struggled to repeat the performance. Bronze at the 2020 Europeans was followed by 5^th this season and so far in the World Cups they have a silver from Zagreb and 6^th in Lucerne.

Switzerland are the other Tokyo-bound crew. Their line-up of Markus Kessler, Paul Jacquot, Joel Schuerch and Andrin Gulich, have two 8^th place finishes this season the first at the Europeans and the 2^nd at the Lucerne World Cup. They are making a habit of finishing 8^th as they also took that spot at the 2019 World and European Championships.

Great Britain’s number 1 crew is David Ambler, Matt Aldridge, Sam Bannister and Sam Nunn. Ambler is another former St Paul’s and Harvard oarsman and won gold in the U23 BM4- in 2019. Aldridge, Bannister and Nunn are all products of the Oxford Brookes system and all have Henley medals with Aldridge and Nunn also having U23 world Championship medals to their credit.

GBR2 is another boat packed with U23 World Champions. Cambridge Blue Freddie Davidson was in the BM4- that won gold in 2019 and his crew mates, Lenny Jenkins, Matt Rowe and David Bewicke-Copley were all members of the gold medal U23 BM8 from 2019. Both Jenkins and Bewicke-Copley studied in the US with Jenkins winning the IRA’s with Yale and Bewicke-Copley was at Princeton. It’s going to be very interesting to see these two British boats perform and these will be names to watch for during the Paris Olympiad.

The 2^nd Italian boat looks to be their U23 crew, all making their senior international debuts. Jacapo Frigerio finished 3^rd in the U23 BM4- in 2019 and he’s joined by three former junior medallists; Davide Verita (gold in the JM4+ in 2018), Nicolas Castelnovo (Youth Olympic Games champion) and Alessandro Bonamoneta (silver medallist in the JM2- in 2019).

The final crew racing are The Netherlands. This looks to be a development boat with Laurentius Lipman and Menno Bezema making their senior debuts, both having previously raced at the World University Games. The other members of the crew are U23 medallists, Luuk Adema and Ties Talisma.

My picks….Italy in gold ahead of Poland. Switzerland should take the bronze but I’m really interested to see what the British boats can do, it wouldn’t surprise me if one of them managed to grab bronze.

M4X

8 crews

This looks to be a two-way battle for the gold and another two-way battle for the bronze. Up front it looks to be a contest between the Italians and Poles for the Gold. Italy (Simone Venier, Luca Rambaldi, Andrea Panizza & Giacoma Gentili) are the reigning European Champions and 2019 World Bronze medallists. At Lucerne two weeks ago they won silver behind the Dutch World Champions (who they’d defeated in Varese). Poland are the World silver medallists from 2019 with their crew of Dominik Czaja, Wiktor Chabel, Szymon Posnik and Fabian Baranski. But, so far this season they’ve yet to get the better of the Italians, finishing 4^th at both the Europeans and Lucerne World Cup.

If Italy and Poland will be battling for gold, then the bronze will be between Germany and Norway. Both these boats are hugely experienced. Germany have double Olympic champion Karl Schulze along with fellow Rio gold medallist Hans Gruhne. Norway have the legendary Olaf Tufte, heading to his 7^th Olympic Games! Neither of these crews have really fulfilled their potential yet. Germany didn’t race at the Europeans, but took bronze at the Zagreb World Cup and 6^th in Lucerne. Norway were 12^th in  Varese and 6^th in Lucerne.

Both Germany and Italy have 2^nd boats racing made up of young scullers. Germany 2 has U23 internationals Henrik Runge, David Junge and Anton Finger. Runge and Finger were the U23 BM2X in 2019 that finished 4^th and Junge won silver in the BM4X. The fourth member of the crew is Julius Rommelmann who is making his international debut in Sabaudia. Italy 2 is stroked by U23 bronze medallist Nunzio di Colandrea, he’s joined by three former junior internationals; Lorenzo Gaione, Matteo Sartori & Pietro Cangialosi.

The Czech Republic missed qualifying for Tokyo after finishing 5^th at the FOQR. They’ve made two changes to that crew bringing in two former junior internationals, Daniel Nosek and Dalibor Nedela. They join Tomas Sisma and Filip Zima who raced in the quad all season and were also in the U23 BM4X in 2019.

The final crew racing are from Egypt, Mohamed Elashahawi & taimur Cantoni are also racing in the M2X and Abdelkhalek Elbana is racing in the M1X. The 4^th member of the crew is Sayed Salman who raced in the M4- at the 2019 World Championships.

My picks: Italy 1 in gold with Poland in silver and Germany in bronze.

M8

3 crews

Germany take on two crews from Italy. Italy 1 is their senior 8 which finished 5^th at the European Championships this season. The Italians have made one change to that crew with Emanuele Gaetani Liseo replacing Matteo Della Valle. Italy 2 is their U23 crew which includes three former junior world medallists; Achille Benazzo, Emilio Pappalettera and Alessandro Gardino. They are coxed by U23 bronze medallist Filippo Wiesenfeld.

It’s difficult to see why Germany have entered this event, they should beat both of the Italian crews fairly comfortably and won’t really learn anything from the experience apart from most likely recording their first win of the season. If the top Italian boat (who won’t be going to Tokyo) can run them close then it will be a boost to the home nation but do nothing for the Germans….if by some chance the Italians can beat the Germans then it’ll be a huge blow to their already badly damaged confidence.

That being said I think the Germans will win comfortably with Italy 1 in 2^nd and the U23 Italian crew a long way back in 3^rd.

LM2X

6 crews

Another event where the race will split in two. Battling it out for the gold will be Italy (Pietro Ruta and Stefano Oppo) and Norway 1 (Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli). These two doubles should have a really good battle. The Italians were world silver medallists in 2018 and 2019 and European champions in 2020. At this year’s Europeans they took the bronze behind Ireland and Germany. They also raced at the Lucerne World Cup but could only manage 4^th, the first time this duo have ever missed the podium.

Strandli and Brun were world champions back in 2013 and Olympic bronze medallists in Rio. This season they started racing heavyweight to avoid having to hit their weight limits at that part of the season, but in Lucerne they returned to the lightweight division and secured an excellent silver medal behind the Irish. The race between these two crews should be excellent to watch.

Behind these two crews there are three African boats from Algeria, Egypt and Uganda. Algeria qualified for Tokyo at the African Qualifying Regatta, Sid Ali Boudina has been racing internationally since 2011 and Tokyo will be his 2^nd Olympics having finished 23^rd in the M1X in Rio. His partner is Kamel Ait Daoud, he’s been racing even longer than Boudina having made his senior debut in 2007. Tokyo will also be his 2^nd Olympics having raced the LM2X in Beijing…13 years between a first and second Olympics may be a record for an endurance sport.

Neither Egypt (Mohamed Aly & Ahmed Abdelaal) or Uganda (Charles Magezi and Paul Twahirwa) are heading to Tokyo. Egypt raced at the Lucerne World Cup finishing 15^th. Neither of the Ugandan scullers have raced internationally before but it’s great to see the Ugandans racing.

The final crew racing are aa 2^nd Norwegian crew of Jens Holm and Oskar Soedal. Holm subbed into the LM2X for the 2018 World Championship final and finished 5^th. As a double he and Soedal raced at the Lucerne World Cup finishing 13^th.

My picks….Norway 1 in gold with Italy in silver with Norway 2 a long way back in bronze.

Cover Image: World Rowing

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