Belgrade

:00:10. > :00:16.Well, to Trafford rowing club in the South of Manchester. Our hosts for

:00:17. > :00:21.the coverage of the World Cup happening in Belgrade. Trafford is a

:00:22. > :00:25.club which is being absolutely flooded at the moment with 100

:00:26. > :00:32.junior members and 80 on the waiting list. The majority of them directly

:00:33. > :00:43.inspired by the Team GB performance we saw in Rio nine months ago. Great

:00:44. > :00:48.Britain are strong, just the last couple of strokes and it is Great

:00:49. > :00:53.Britain who are the Olympic champions, and that has a fantastic

:00:54. > :00:56.ring about it! Great Britain are going to go into the record books

:00:57. > :01:03.with a medal and it is looking like it is going to be a silver. Gold!

:01:04. > :01:06.They have absolutely done it. The British have come under pressure at

:01:07. > :01:11.the halfway mark and they have responded, they are Olympic

:01:12. > :01:17.champions, they have done it in style and that is what we expect

:01:18. > :01:27.here. Granger... So powerful this season. Olympic silver medallists.

:01:28. > :01:34.They are fearless, without equal, they are history makers, Great

:01:35. > :01:41.Britain's lover and stunning win the Olympic title in such style! --

:01:42. > :01:46.Glover and migratory. One team member who has retired after Rio is

:01:47. > :01:51.Katherine Grainger. I would normally say was that a tough decision to

:01:52. > :01:53.stop, I think you it was straightforward? Not as

:01:54. > :01:57.straightforward as you would think. I thought I could walk away easier

:01:58. > :02:02.but I have done it for 20 years and even with Rio, it is hard to walk

:02:03. > :02:06.away from the spot, I love it and I miss it. I have stepped away and I

:02:07. > :02:10.have time to do other things. A big new job is one of them. Yes, I

:02:11. > :02:16.thought it was time I got a job, my parents are both pleased. I will

:02:17. > :02:20.work part-time and also do other things. And you had an appointment

:02:21. > :02:24.to see Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace. She drew the doors open to

:02:25. > :02:29.many of the Olympians and Paralympian is which was wonderful.

:02:30. > :02:33.I could collect my honour from her, which was an honour. Let's turn our

:02:34. > :02:40.attention to Belgrade. Huge numbers of changes in the British team. Yes,

:02:41. > :02:44.in my career, I have never seen such huge changes in personnel for the

:02:45. > :02:50.men and the women. It has completely transformed the team we saw in Rio.

:02:51. > :02:54.Which is a mix. It is exciting, the opportunity is great, to see this

:02:55. > :03:02.new influx of potential athletes. The challenges, the expectations are

:03:03. > :03:05.as high as ever. For the coaches, the team managers, the public

:03:06. > :03:09.expectation, we all want to see huge success continuing. There have been

:03:10. > :03:12.questions about the last 48 hours over the weather, the racing has

:03:13. > :03:18.been moved by one hour. You've raced here and it was not pleasant ISDN.

:03:19. > :03:23.The weather is very changeable. We had beautiful sunshine here and the

:03:24. > :03:27.worse weather over the other side of Europe. From what we know, it might

:03:28. > :03:31.not be a key role but it has affected timing, so time -- so some

:03:32. > :03:36.changes to the athletes, but they know how to handle that. A lot to

:03:37. > :03:39.come in the next races, this is what is coming up.

:03:40. > :03:45.The first step on the road to Tokyo but some things do not change with a

:03:46. > :03:51.new look crew on the men's four with a familiar Rio athlete returning.

:03:52. > :03:56.Being the one survivor from Rio returning, I am starting fresh, but

:03:57. > :04:01.I feel like a junior again. Step forward Holly Norton and Karen

:04:02. > :04:04.Bennett in the women's pair, and they continued their recent winning

:04:05. > :04:07.record in this event. It is the start of the Olympics and knowing

:04:08. > :04:12.what you want in the back of your mind, that takes you forward. And we

:04:13. > :04:16.will meet some of the new faces in the British team looking to continue

:04:17. > :04:19.the success of their predecessors. So a lot of changes in all the

:04:20. > :04:24.rowing teams from all round-the-world at the start of this

:04:25. > :04:28.new Olympiad. 75% of the British team from Rio has moved on. But one

:04:29. > :04:36.person who is not going anywhere is the head coach for the men who is

:04:37. > :04:40.now starting his eighth British Olympic campaign. His parity has

:04:41. > :04:48.historically been the men's four, the one athlete he has left from Rio

:04:49. > :04:54.he was in his four is five -- is Mohamed Sbihi. Every four years, if

:04:55. > :04:58.you like a superstar when you go to the limericks. The British under

:04:59. > :05:02.pressure at the halfway mark, they have responded, they are the Olympic

:05:03. > :05:07.champions. You go back to reality, it is wet and windy, you are not

:05:08. > :05:13.fit. Being the one survivor from Rio, I am starting afresh but almost

:05:14. > :05:19.feel like a junior again. Back again. Novelty for me, the same old

:05:20. > :05:24.for you. You are now European and World Champion and Olympic champion.

:05:25. > :05:30.How was that all feeling? Slightly surreal. It has not really sunk in.

:05:31. > :05:33.I am hoping it is something that when I retire, I kind of really

:05:34. > :05:37.appreciate. When you are not rowing and you have the time free after the

:05:38. > :05:40.Olympics committee feel like you are analytic champion because you are

:05:41. > :05:44.not training and the last thing he did was crossed the line first. But

:05:45. > :05:48.in reality, it does not feel like you have a gold medal, that does not

:05:49. > :05:53.get you anything, it does not make me faster on the water or stronger

:05:54. > :05:57.in the gym. The challenge is to remember that I am of a standard of

:05:58. > :06:01.an Olympic champion and also to be quite humble and honest and remember

:06:02. > :06:05.I do not have a Tokyo gold medal, I have a Rio gold medal and that

:06:06. > :06:09.distinction is something I am using quite a lot at the moment to get me

:06:10. > :06:17.through training. How easy a decision was it to return? Alex and

:06:18. > :06:19.George have left the team. Last man standing, did you have a big

:06:20. > :06:23.conversation with yourself about whether you want to go back? I

:06:24. > :06:30.thought I was fun to row with and they all retired. So definitely not!

:06:31. > :06:34.I took it very personally! Going in, I always assumed I would carry on so

:06:35. > :06:38.after I got the Bronze in London, my next four years were planned out

:06:39. > :06:42.easily with motivation every year. I knew roughly what I wanted to

:06:43. > :06:46.achieve and it seemed like a really short time, four years is very

:06:47. > :06:50.manageable when you are a loser, as such. You get that gold medal and

:06:51. > :06:55.almost instantly the next morning, I woke up and thought four years was a

:06:56. > :06:59.long way way. When I got cold, I doubted whether I wanted to carry on

:07:00. > :07:05.or not. What made you soon in the direction of coming back? A couple

:07:06. > :07:09.of weeks of living the Olympic dream and partying, you get back and the

:07:10. > :07:12.reality dawned on me very quickly that I am still quite competitive.

:07:13. > :07:16.That competitive edge was still there and I missed the bus of

:07:17. > :07:20.training and racing and beating the hell out of your team-mates at on

:07:21. > :07:27.the German and in the water and the rest of the world when you get the

:07:28. > :07:32.opportunity to go away for the World Cup -- good team-mates in the

:07:33. > :07:36.gymnasium. That is my drive. My coach always assumed I was coming

:07:37. > :07:41.back, but he was saying it by have not seen my best yet and that is a

:07:42. > :07:45.good challenge to have. As long as those are the challenges, I still

:07:46. > :07:50.will be quite motivated. What is the drive and motivation now, what more

:07:51. > :07:54.is there to do? Good question, I kind of have everything to do in the

:07:55. > :07:58.sport, to do it twice is impressive. If we lose every single race between

:07:59. > :08:02.here and then, it would be horrible, but if I got another gold medal in

:08:03. > :08:08.Tokyo, and would be very happy. What is the hope now this season? It is a

:08:09. > :08:10.long year this year, the World Championships, still five months

:08:11. > :08:14.away, that is the project and we want to get gold in Florida. This

:08:15. > :08:18.first Royal Regatta will be very exciting because we do not know who

:08:19. > :08:24.will turn up, what they will be like, what we are like. In the years

:08:25. > :08:30.to come but and reading into it, you have a rough idea what everybody is

:08:31. > :08:37.going to do. -- and leading into the Olympics. This year, nobody has a

:08:38. > :08:45.clue. Yes, I am sure there will be mad things going on in the first

:08:46. > :08:48.minutes of the race. So Mo Sbihi does not always strike me as an

:08:49. > :08:53.athlete who wears his heart on his sleeve and he told as a lot. Yes, he

:08:54. > :08:57.was in really good form and very honest about the chance of coming

:08:58. > :09:01.back. It is obvious that he is the only remaining member of the four

:09:02. > :09:04.from the Rio Olympics and he is the last man standing and he feels that

:09:05. > :09:09.responsibility. He has transformed in his career and being one of the

:09:10. > :09:13.younger athletes who rebelled against everything to being a bit of

:09:14. > :09:18.a statesman now and he is aware of that in and out of the boat. You and

:09:19. > :09:24.I have had that situation, I was very bad at it, what added pressure

:09:25. > :09:28.is that when you are back to factor in Captain and leader? That is the

:09:29. > :09:32.fun can you take that role on. It is a new role. There is a lot of pride

:09:33. > :09:36.in that event and his performance, he is one of the best athletes in

:09:37. > :09:40.the world. He wants to prove that again and he is doing it with new

:09:41. > :09:44.guys which is a very different challenge and he is working closely

:09:45. > :09:49.with Jurgen and they have a good relationship. This is the new look

:09:50. > :09:56.four with the same old commentators, Gary Herbert and James Cracknell.

:09:57. > :10:04.2013, the year after London Olympics, the coach focused on the

:10:05. > :10:08.top boat as his the men's eight because he had gapless returning

:10:09. > :10:12.from the previous year. Things are different this year by his own

:10:13. > :10:16.admission, he has said it is the weakest post-Olympic team he has

:10:17. > :10:27.dealt with and that is why they are focusing on the four. And today we

:10:28. > :10:31.have a top four, and, with the British group looking to lay down a

:10:32. > :10:35.massive marker. The only group returning from Neil elliptic Cup

:10:36. > :10:41.Final last year. Netherlands in two, Russia into macro, Russia in three

:10:42. > :10:49.and Spain on the side closest to us, five. James, Jurgen is back to the

:10:50. > :10:56.boat he is most comfortable with. The four. Yes, he has got that since

:10:57. > :11:04.he has been in Britain, the men's pair up he has had success with. But

:11:05. > :11:07.the four has been the one consistent. The reality is since the

:11:08. > :11:14.New Zealand pair retired were dominating for the last couple of

:11:15. > :11:23.Olympics, the boat classes are all open. Here, in the four, it is the

:11:24. > :11:28.market to see what we can do. Going through the first time in marker, a

:11:29. > :11:38.quarter of the race down, no alarm. This is OK. Cannot remember if

:11:39. > :11:42.Spanish four beating a British four ever. I hear you and I agree with

:11:43. > :11:46.you. But in the context of this Royal Regatta, they have had a slow

:11:47. > :11:51.first 500 throughout the Royal Regatta so far and they still need a

:11:52. > :11:55.power application right in the first 500 because they know they have the

:11:56. > :11:59.power and endurance and the speed in the middle thousands. But the

:12:00. > :12:06.Russians also,, you have Netherlands in lane three and Russia in lane

:12:07. > :12:13.two. It is still quite close. But you would expect them, you never

:12:14. > :12:16.expect anything but... I expect the British four to give the Spanish

:12:17. > :12:25.four a kicking in the first metres. And our boys have not. That is a

:12:26. > :12:29.demonstration of raw boat speed and that is the success of the past,

:12:30. > :12:33.they have not had pace in the middle but they have had raw boat speed and

:12:34. > :12:41.that is what Jurgen is juggling with now. He has two the nominally gifted

:12:42. > :12:49.athletes in Mo Sbihi at and Will Satch and it is about finding the

:12:50. > :12:56.right combination. Great Britain's boat. Netherlands sitting in Lehman

:12:57. > :13:04.Belgrade. What has happened in the second 500? Spain just slipping back

:13:05. > :13:10.from the first 500 back to third in the Bronze medal position into the

:13:11. > :13:14.third by the hundred. This Dutch second crew, they were fed at the

:13:15. > :13:21.Olympic Games last year. Well off the pace of one of the most

:13:22. > :13:25.outstanding British crews, with all due respect, in modern times, to my

:13:26. > :13:33.friend on the right. That four was faster than any four by far, they

:13:34. > :13:37.were a real class act. They were obviously Olympic champions, the

:13:38. > :13:43.Netherlands with it. That crew is putting significant pressure against

:13:44. > :13:49.the British group. It can see the bowel slicing through the water. You

:13:50. > :13:53.have Russia on the far side and Spain closest. It is a long time

:13:54. > :13:55.since Spain had been competitive in anything and now they are coming off

:13:56. > :14:06.the pace. 37 for Great Britain so the Russians

:14:07. > :14:13.are... Taking the high number of strokes minute at 38. James, in the

:14:14. > :14:20.middle of the second 500 where would you expect this crew to be? Middle

:14:21. > :14:26.of the third 500. I would expect them to have been sitting on the

:14:27. > :14:30.bowels of the Dutch whereas they are just one man up on the Dutch coming

:14:31. > :14:37.through. 500 metres to go. 50 strokes remaining of this men's

:14:38. > :14:41.heavyweight four final. This is where the British team laid down

:14:42. > :14:46.their marker, this is the flagship boat at the moment for the men's

:14:47. > :14:52.heavyweight team. This is the boat that will lay it out for the rest of

:14:53. > :14:56.the world. Will Austria, Italy, South Africa, Canada, United States,

:14:57. > :15:00.will they be watching this and thinking, we can put something out

:15:01. > :15:05.quicker and faster, given the British are finally starting to

:15:06. > :15:11.move. It's taken 1500 metres. We've got William Satch sitting in the

:15:12. > :15:17.seat, backed up by Sbihi, one of the strongest men out there. Tarrant

:15:18. > :15:21.from Oxford Brookes. McBrierty subbing. I'm not going to make

:15:22. > :15:25.excuses for the fact the Great Britain crew have a sub, such is the

:15:26. > :15:29.standard across the whole team in terms of training, in terms of the

:15:30. > :15:37.money that pours into this. These are all quality athletes. Any sub

:15:38. > :15:40.who goes in will be quality. The Brits under pressure at 500 metres,

:15:41. > :15:45.they have responded well, dominating the field. You made the comment,

:15:46. > :15:53.what about South Africa, the Australians, the Italians, what will

:15:54. > :15:57.they be thinking? They will think the Spanish have unearthed a gem,

:15:58. > :16:01.discovered four amazing athletes, they will think, we can beat the

:16:02. > :16:08.Spanish crew. They will think the British four isn't that strong.

:16:09. > :16:13.Great Britain over the line by about half a length, Netherlands second,

:16:14. > :16:17.Spain getting bronze today. Good result for Spain on bronze. All

:16:18. > :16:21.focus on Great Britain. Was that good enough? Should it have been

:16:22. > :16:27.more? A win is a win but when you put down the fact this is a flagship

:16:28. > :16:32.boat, and Jurgen says he has inherited one of the weakest teams,

:16:33. > :16:36.because there are people who haven't announced whether they are coming

:16:37. > :16:41.back again, there is still much to be done. There were tweaks we had to

:16:42. > :16:46.make to the strategy after the heat on Friday, it didn't go the way we

:16:47. > :16:50.wanted it to. We executed a good enough race plan to do the job. We

:16:51. > :16:54.found ourselves struggling through the second half last time, we left a

:16:55. > :17:06.lot to make up in the last 500 metres. We try to give it more in

:17:07. > :17:10.the first half, it paid off today. Olympic champion, Sbihi, it wasn't

:17:11. > :17:14.the quality of the road that saw you win Olympic gold. No, definitely not

:17:15. > :17:22.the quality, very scrappy. Very scrappy but you come away, go to the

:17:23. > :17:27.first World Cup wanting to win, and you come away with job done. We've

:17:28. > :17:31.got a long way to go before we start pumping out some very polished

:17:32. > :17:37.performances. So if you can win on bad days like today, it's even more

:17:38. > :17:40.sweet than what it is when you're humming along nicely. You go into

:17:41. > :17:45.those races with confidence, thinking you can do it, it's not

:17:46. > :17:50.nice when it's not perfect, but sometimes, like Mo said, on the day

:17:51. > :17:54.when it isn't perfect, it means more. To come away with a wimp when

:17:55. > :18:03.it wasn't the best role, I'm pretty happy with that. I suppose a win is

:18:04. > :18:05.a win, is that enough to cover that race? If they stay in that

:18:06. > :18:12.combination, everything can change in years to come, they will remember

:18:13. > :18:15.being unbeaten if they continue. I don't think any of them will be

:18:16. > :18:19.overly happy, they would have wanted it more their own way, to dominate

:18:20. > :18:22.the race and continue where they left it last season. I think the

:18:23. > :18:28.Spanish were surprisingly fast at the start. We haven't seen the

:18:29. > :18:32.Spanish four for a long time, that is interesting for the event. You

:18:33. > :18:38.don't get medals for the first 500, it is the 2000 metre full race. The

:18:39. > :18:41.Dutch crew were not just given a hard time through the middle, they

:18:42. > :18:44.never let the British group breakaway comfortably, they wanted

:18:45. > :18:48.to stretch their lead, relax into the rhythm, move out, if anything

:18:49. > :18:52.the Dutch were coming back towards the end. It will be in a comfortable

:18:53. > :19:01.race, but it's a win. Working to tight timescales. Quite a lot of

:19:02. > :19:14.moving parts already, even early in the season. Or Sbihi it has been a

:19:15. > :19:19.few weeks since trial. Any of these bigger combinations, it's very early

:19:20. > :19:25.in the season for them to feel settled. A very new combination for

:19:26. > :19:31.the men's four. It's one of those races where you think it is a good

:19:32. > :19:37.start, stop start, not the best start, but lots of time to get that

:19:38. > :19:41.run. Turning to the lightweight men's double, represented by Will

:19:42. > :19:44.Fletcher and Peter Chambers, who takes over from his brother Richard,

:19:45. > :19:49.who has moved on to coaching with Cambridge. It's fair to say all eyes

:19:50. > :19:55.on this field will be on the O'Donovan brothers from Ireland

:19:56. > :20:00.Skibbereen. When they came back from Rio with silver medals, 15,000

:20:01. > :20:02.people came to their homecoming. Let's see how both these doubles get

:20:03. > :20:14.on. Fantastic conditions for the men's

:20:15. > :20:18.lightweight double sculls. The crew average cannot exceed 70 kilograms

:20:19. > :20:23.and we expect big competition. Spain in one, Netherlands two, Ireland,

:20:24. > :20:29.Gary and Paul O'Donovan, the brothers, sitting in three. 24 years

:20:30. > :20:34.of age, Gary, 23 Paul Quinn in the stroke seat. Going off like a

:20:35. > :20:37.rocket. Peter Chambers and will Fletcher, new line-up in the men's

:20:38. > :20:49.like double sculls, Great Britain city lane number four.

:20:50. > :20:55.Has become of the first 100 metres, the O'Donovan brothers losing speed

:20:56. > :21:01.coming to the front in name four, Chambers and Fletcher. The O'Donovan

:21:02. > :21:04.brothers have had a fantastic year last year, they've been working,

:21:05. > :21:10.celebrating hard since then. Now it's all about a new system, new

:21:11. > :21:14.season. At the moment in an event that is going to become more

:21:15. > :21:18.competitive, if the men's light coxless four is removed from the

:21:19. > :21:22.Olympic category, this event will step up and up as being the only

:21:23. > :21:27.event for lightweight at the Olympics. It's already the only

:21:28. > :21:32.sculling event, is Arthur two best lightweights in every country in the

:21:33. > :21:35.world in this boat. It's already a great event to watch. Racing wise.

:21:36. > :21:43.It's going to become even better when you've got six athletes going

:21:44. > :21:49.for two spots. Great Britain by three or four feet. A quarter of the

:21:50. > :21:54.race in this final. The crew start to transition into their rhythm,

:21:55. > :22:00.relaxed period. Putting down the power. The gutter Lane number three,

:22:01. > :22:04.had an atrocious start. Gary and Paul having to fight. Their tag line

:22:05. > :22:10.is bull like a dog. That's what they did to get through the Olympic Games

:22:11. > :22:15.last year. Right at the early stages of this year, they will have to dig

:22:16. > :22:19.deep. They are doing that, they were dropped out in the first 150 metres

:22:20. > :22:24.and have clawed their way back in amongst the pack, as we settle into

:22:25. > :22:30.this final. The Midway part of the second 500 metres. They didn't when

:22:31. > :22:35.their medal in Rio by leading from the front, a scrap at the end. They

:22:36. > :22:40.came and never doubted themselves through the middle of the race,

:22:41. > :22:44.toughed it out at the end. What is good for our boys, they are sitting

:22:45. > :22:48.back looking at a medal. Three quarters of a length up on the

:22:49. > :22:53.medallists from Rio. This is what you want to see in your first race

:22:54. > :22:57.out. They showed good form in the early rounds of the regatta. It's

:22:58. > :23:05.fine having a nice heat, nice semi, but the final is where you want to

:23:06. > :23:10.show your form again. The event is so competitive, four boats in a

:23:11. > :23:14.line. Luckily our one is half a length ahead, the perfect place to

:23:15. > :23:18.be. You know you are in for a fight in the second half. France are the

:23:19. > :23:25.Olympic champions in this event, Great Britain taking the role

:23:26. > :23:29.leading. Great Britain from the Czech Republic and Poland. Ireland,

:23:30. > :23:36.the O'Donovan brothers, Chambers and Fletcher for Great Britain. Poland,

:23:37. > :23:39.they are in Lane number five. Right up amongst it. While the crews look

:23:40. > :23:47.relaxed, they will be working. The one you can see are toughing it out,

:23:48. > :23:52.fighting it out, Paul O'Donovan in the stroke seat, almost every other

:23:53. > :23:55.strip looking over his shoulder, checking the bow of the Irish vote

:23:56. > :24:00.against the stern of the British boat. Will Fletcher on the white

:24:01. > :24:07.backed up by Peter Chambers. The closest to us. The Czech Republic on

:24:08. > :24:13.the outside closest to us, starting to move. We're in the third 500

:24:14. > :24:17.metres, the most exciting part, because the crew will have got

:24:18. > :24:24.through their race plan and it's all about cat and mouse, do you do the

:24:25. > :24:28.bushes as required, move it forward? It's jostling for position is as

:24:29. > :24:34.weak towards the last 500 metre mark, which will be the all or

:24:35. > :24:38.nothing sprint. The British boys have clean entry, accurate around

:24:39. > :24:45.the front-end. Pushing the blade in the water. If you typed it right it

:24:46. > :24:50.makes an efficient rowing stroke. It's almost their efficiency as

:24:51. > :25:00.opposed to the raging progression of the Irish boys behind who were last

:25:01. > :25:09.at 500, second at 1000. So far so good. 1500 down Great Britain lead.

:25:10. > :25:11.They cannot let up. It is the most competitive lightweight men's event

:25:12. > :25:19.out there in terms of quality when you get to the final. They'll know

:25:20. > :25:22.the Irish won't roll over. Peter Chambers and Will Fletcher for Great

:25:23. > :25:28.Britain in Lane for. They've opened it up a bit. The Irish in lane three

:25:29. > :25:33.through the first 500. Poland on the right coming on hard, the Czech

:25:34. > :25:37.Republic on the outside. The Czech Republic coming over, they have the

:25:38. > :25:49.overlap, strong overlap from the Czech Republic. Remember, these guys

:25:50. > :25:53.on a level playing field. The Czech Republic taking loads out of the

:25:54. > :25:56.British double skull, up from the Czech Republic. Coming with them,

:25:57. > :26:03.Poland. The O'Donovan brothers on the far side keeping their heads up.

:26:04. > :26:07.There is going to be a fight to the line. Four boats for three places.

:26:08. > :26:11.Looks like the O'Donovan brothers will miss out on the podium. With

:26:12. > :26:15.four going for three the crew at the front is being hounded by three

:26:16. > :26:19.other boats. From looking control than accurate the British boys will

:26:20. > :26:25.have to dig deep and get their racing heads on. Inside the last 100

:26:26. > :26:29.metres, desperate stuff. On your rights, the Czech Republic keep

:26:30. > :26:35.pushing, surely the British have done enough. Just threw in first

:26:36. > :26:41.place. It's Poland... We wait for the full confirmation, whether it's

:26:42. > :26:44.Poland over Ireland. It shows how competitive this event is, all of

:26:45. > :26:52.the crews concertina ring into the line. It's early doors here but what

:26:53. > :26:56.an event we've seen. The men's lightweight double sculls. Two names

:26:57. > :27:00.to look out for as we head towards the next Olympics is Peter Chambers

:27:01. > :27:05.and Will Fletcher, race winners today. What was the look on your

:27:06. > :27:09.face in the last ten strokes? It was Peter Chambers carrying the crossed

:27:10. > :27:16.the line, that was, it was a really good start to the Olympiad and the

:27:17. > :27:19.season, it really was. That was a pained face, that was, I'll admit

:27:20. > :27:25.that. It means there is work to do. A good start. You were so strong

:27:26. > :27:32.through the middle than hanging on in the last 250. We put the ground

:27:33. > :27:40.working in the first 1500 then hung on, it's sometimes the way you have

:27:41. > :27:46.to do it. We did a good job. A lot more pleased with that. We'll see

:27:47. > :27:52.what another two weeks can do before the Europeans. One race at a time,

:27:53. > :27:56.see if we can pick them off. I caught you saying something to Will

:27:57. > :28:02.in the last part of the race, was it a word of encouragement? I'm not

:28:03. > :28:10.sure I do remember. That was probably the last sensible word. It

:28:11. > :28:16.was good, though, really good. Will reflect on that place in a moment,

:28:17. > :28:19.but before we do let's catch up with the women's race. Two very familiar

:28:20. > :28:26.faces in the lightweight women's double. Kat Copeland and Charlotte

:28:27. > :28:30.Taylor, for them the Rio Olympics were a series of races they would

:28:31. > :28:33.rather forget. Since then Charlotte Taylor has become Charlotte Booth

:28:34. > :28:39.after marrying since Rio, and both of these women will be looking to

:28:40. > :28:47.make up after the Olympic heartbreak. Another 23 women's

:28:48. > :28:53.lightweight double. Over to Gary and James. Charlotte Booth in the stroke

:28:54. > :29:00.suit from Putney town rowing club. In front of the Olympic champion

:29:01. > :29:05.from 2012 Katherine Copeland. Formerly of the Tees rowing club.

:29:06. > :29:10.Into the third 500 metres now, they were easing in the first 500. Into

:29:11. > :29:14.second they consolidated their rhythm, it has taken them to the

:29:15. > :29:18.first part going through the halfway mark, now they can think, this is

:29:19. > :29:23.going well, the first five ticks, seven 500 tick. Confidence to go for

:29:24. > :29:27.it a little bit more. Times in training will give reassurance they

:29:28. > :29:31.can go through all of this. Now they sit to the right and they are

:29:32. > :29:35.watching Poland, seventh in the Olympic games last year, against

:29:36. > :29:38.their 14th. Great Britain were second at the World Championships

:29:39. > :29:42.the year before. They were European champions.

:29:43. > :29:50.But from a lot Asterix bought -- to restore and so far they are doing

:29:51. > :29:55.that. But this too bad now, we do not want a repeat of the sprint into

:29:56. > :29:58.with the men's double sculls where they got caught as the line

:29:59. > :30:03.approached. If they can put the race to bed in this third quarter and

:30:04. > :30:07.power away and enjoy the last 500 metres, that would be a really good

:30:08. > :30:14.step back onto the international circuit for them. The nice technique

:30:15. > :30:22.and length. Yes, they look very relaxed. If I was them, but every

:30:23. > :30:27.metre they can draw out just puts them mentally in a much better space

:30:28. > :30:31.ball when the likes of the Netherlands and the Canadians and

:30:32. > :30:43.the Chinese and New Zealand and South Africa arrive. 1,500 metres

:30:44. > :30:48.fast approaching, very good third 500 for Great Britain, three

:30:49. > :30:56.quarters of a length up. In third place, Madeleine Arlett and Emily

:30:57. > :31:02.Craig from Great Britain but, under 23 scull, 24 years of age, the

:31:03. > :31:07.migratory is from Edinburgh University. They are starting to

:31:08. > :31:12.push up and what a result. They have 500 metres to take out Poland who

:31:13. > :31:16.were saddened at the Olympic Games and lay down their own market to

:31:17. > :31:21.keep it competitive because what you're looking at in your screen

:31:22. > :31:26.from Great Britain one and two, four sculls going for two places in this

:31:27. > :31:32.highly competitive event. The crew on the right is a less experienced

:31:33. > :31:37.in amongst it, Poland starting respond -- starting to respond and

:31:38. > :31:41.Arlett and Craig pushing hard. Poland have taken half the distance

:31:42. > :31:45.back on the British and is similar to the men's double sculls, dominant

:31:46. > :31:50.at three quarters distance and now involved in a sprint finish. If

:31:51. > :31:55.there is fragility in their mind off the back of Rio, this is where it

:31:56. > :32:01.will come into play. The Copeland and Booth have just come through

:32:02. > :32:07.with no response. Still long in the British crew but Poland shortened

:32:08. > :32:12.the length, the rate went up and they went straight through. They

:32:13. > :32:16.will be caught by the British number two because that will have hurt them

:32:17. > :32:27.psychologically, they got rammed through like a truck going through a

:32:28. > :32:31.wall, either polls. Taking a stroke. Diverted in the last 250 metres.

:32:32. > :32:37.Just when it Great Britain one thought they were comfortable, a

:32:38. > :32:42.length up, Poland changed again and they came on hard and they took

:32:43. > :32:45.Britain out of the picture. It looked as though Copeland and Booth

:32:46. > :32:49.from Great Britain just allowed them to come through, there was no

:32:50. > :32:55.obvious response to that. Poland one, Great Britain one in second

:32:56. > :33:00.place, Arlett and Craig Bird, a good result but is still some way off the

:33:01. > :33:10.British School number one. That much great and then unravelled

:33:11. > :33:17.a bit. Yes, we were hoping to see the perfect start to the season,

:33:18. > :33:21.they had quite a traumatic time in Rio and it is great to see them back

:33:22. > :33:26.in a boat together and sculling better than we have seen them for a

:33:27. > :33:32.long time. They were world medallists and they have had great

:33:33. > :33:35.history but the shadow of Rio is very strong and disappointment for

:33:36. > :33:38.that. For most of the race, they showed what they were capable of and

:33:39. > :33:42.what they can be capable of the game. They will be disappointed to

:33:43. > :33:48.be pushed away dramatically by Poland in the end, but they have put

:33:49. > :33:52.a big chunk of race back in place and I do think it is very early in

:33:53. > :33:58.the season with a lot to be done, and other great lightweight women in

:33:59. > :34:05.the race. For them, hopefully it is the turn of a page. Let's go back to

:34:06. > :34:14.the man, lecture and Chambers. A great win. Absolutely. I know a lot

:34:15. > :34:19.of the events are not full at this event, but the men's is always Fast

:34:20. > :34:27.and Furious, never easy to win. And a new British combination. And that

:34:28. > :34:32.position we have been in before, you are in a medium position and the

:34:33. > :34:35.sprint to the finish is relentless and brutal. Fabulous to be in the

:34:36. > :34:42.middle of it. Anything can happen and to see the Irish medallists from

:34:43. > :34:45.Rio missing outside completely in that first international race, a lot

:34:46. > :34:50.is happening in that weight. With the proposal the lightweight four

:34:51. > :34:55.gets dropped, the compression of talent across the country is, that

:34:56. > :35:01.event will get harder and harder. Yes, when we saw six seats for the

:35:02. > :35:10.lightweight rowing, both very competitive, if you go from six to

:35:11. > :35:15.two, that will go off the scale. Thank you so much for having us at

:35:16. > :35:18.Trafford Rowing Club in such beautiful weather, which is much

:35:19. > :35:23.better than Belgrade today. Is it like this every day? Of course. You

:35:24. > :35:30.are the captain, what is that involve. I look after the squads

:35:31. > :35:35.overall. I have vice Captains who helped do that and that is split

:35:36. > :35:39.between the men and the women and the recreational juniors. I have

:35:40. > :35:44.covered everyone, I think. And I also make sure that we have got the

:35:45. > :35:51.boat is allocated for the various squads. I make sure we have got

:35:52. > :35:58.entries in our time, I do not do the entries but I chase people up. Are

:35:59. > :36:05.you wanting to race? The biggest challenge of the job? Being

:36:06. > :36:14.diplomatic! I have been here seven years. I learnt to row in Devon on

:36:15. > :36:19.the sea and came up here to a canal, which is not very similar! How big

:36:20. > :36:24.is the club and what is the make up? We have had a cast of thousands this

:36:25. > :36:30.morning. The current junior numbers are about 101. And we currently have

:36:31. > :36:41.a waiting list of at least 80 juniors wanting to learn to row as

:36:42. > :36:47.well, so trying to go through those, and then it is placing them into the

:36:48. > :36:50.various squads after that. Relying a lot and junior coaches and

:36:51. > :36:57.volunteers to make sure everyone gets a chance to get out on the

:36:58. > :36:58.water. We were talking about international racing today, how is

:36:59. > :37:05.the international rowing world having an impact on numbers taking

:37:06. > :37:11.part, is there a transfer? A huge peak during the Olympics. We do

:37:12. > :37:19.really well. During the Olympics. And so we offered taster days during

:37:20. > :37:25.the rowing in the last Olympics. And we were inundated. And we had a

:37:26. > :37:29.really good turnout of people signing up to join another waiting

:37:30. > :37:40.list for juniors and adults, waiting to go through our row start course

:37:41. > :37:45.to join the club. So to the men's pair and for the first time since

:37:46. > :37:51.2009, there are no big Kiwis on the circuit at all. Derek Murray has

:37:52. > :37:54.retired and Hamish Bond has turned his hands to cycling, we look

:37:55. > :38:00.forward to seeing how he will get on. For the British, a new

:38:01. > :38:04.combination. It is Matt Rossiter and Jacob Dawson for Great Britain, this

:38:05. > :38:15.is how they got on. New Zealand have dominated

:38:16. > :38:22.everything that ever raced, 69 wins, beating 32 countries. And they have

:38:23. > :38:28.racked up the records with that. It is open doors now because it one of

:38:29. > :38:33.them has retired, Murray has retired. Bond is cycling and looking

:38:34. > :38:38.to get into the New Zealand team for Tokyo. That has opened up

:38:39. > :38:43.everything. This is what Great Britain, Dawson and Rossiter, are

:38:44. > :38:49.doing. Slow to begin with. If you talk about the four and the eight,

:38:50. > :38:53.the British pair is on the back foot in terms of ranking. Yes, the

:38:54. > :39:02.experience comes from being in the final at the under 23 is, it is not

:39:03. > :39:07.the two premier athletes in the team competing, it is part of the men's

:39:08. > :39:11.squirt and Jurgen is shuffling his debt and seeing what is coming out.

:39:12. > :39:17.They progressed well to the final, they are in the middle lane, not the

:39:18. > :39:22.strongest field but you have to be competitive and race the people in

:39:23. > :39:26.the team. Jurgen Grobler said it is the weakest team he has been in

:39:27. > :39:29.charge of for a while, but the programme is good and you feel

:39:30. > :39:34.people through that and in that programme, they are doing the work

:39:35. > :39:40.to help get guys meddles in Rio and in Beijing but and there is no

:39:41. > :39:45.reason to expect anything other than that it would improve as the season

:39:46. > :39:49.and this race goes on. They will be strong in the third quarter than

:39:50. > :40:00.most of the other crews. On home water through the first 500 from

:40:01. > :40:05.Serbia, Nenad Bedik and Milos Vasic. The crew is now moving into the

:40:06. > :40:08.second 500 metres. A good start from a Dawson and Rossiter in their

:40:09. > :40:19.senior international career together, coached by the... Jurgen

:40:20. > :40:26.Grobler's right-hand man. A lot of experience with these guys. They

:40:27. > :40:34.finished second at the trials. The recent final trials. Actor Will

:40:35. > :40:40.Satch and Mo Sbihi. They were allowed to stay in the pair. They

:40:41. > :40:49.are in the mix. The British crew. The checking in the second 500 and

:40:50. > :40:54.they have checked Serbia in the second 500. The British boys looking

:40:55. > :40:59.in control. Serbia looks more racy. You would say that is a good thing

:41:00. > :41:05.in the last 100m, but they are a long way from home. Great Britain

:41:06. > :41:09.should not let them call out more inches and I think they will have

:41:10. > :41:13.enough in attack but to put in a good sprint. Less strokes per minute

:41:14. > :41:20.at the minutes, putting in more speed. The programme and was talking

:41:21. > :41:26.about, the strength and depth and injuries, that will come to the fore

:41:27. > :41:30.and I expect us to row them down. Great Britain taking 1/ less per

:41:31. > :41:35.minute and Serbia which is a good position in the second five knowing

:41:36. > :41:39.you have checked that. Going through the halfway mark in this final men's

:41:40. > :41:45.pair in the first World Cup regatta, the British crew of Matt Rossiter

:41:46. > :41:51.and Jacob Dawson is putting down a nice mark-up. We talked about easy

:41:52. > :41:56.speed, nothing is a given, but she want efficient speed. In the second

:41:57. > :42:00.500 coming you saw the British crew demonstrate that, they were taking

:42:01. > :42:05.one at stroke less and getting better speed. Good length and nice

:42:06. > :42:13.ribbon and relaxing. You have to turn it on, so you can do. The bow

:42:14. > :42:18.is out to about a campus, just a bit more. The confidence is rising. So

:42:19. > :42:24.the Serbian pair stretching out and pushing hard, but the race leaders

:42:25. > :42:32.are clear water between these guys. It is looking like a home team

:42:33. > :42:40.Serbia are being led by Great Britain. Yes, in the second 500,

:42:41. > :42:45.Serbia racing could and our guys are in control and this is where they

:42:46. > :42:49.will withdraw on the good winter's training. They have not got a real

:42:50. > :42:54.hangover, they did not go to Rio and they want to go to Tokyo so the

:42:55. > :42:57.hunger to get back in with the training was probably more than the

:42:58. > :43:02.other guys who have returned from the Olympics and are still deciding

:43:03. > :43:06.whether they will go to Tokyo. These guys said, I will stake my claim,

:43:07. > :43:11.they did that at trials coming second and carrying on the pair

:43:12. > :43:21.rather than going onto the eight which looks like a good decision at

:43:22. > :43:29.the moment. Nenad Bedik and Milos Vasic. The Netherlands in that the

:43:30. > :43:35.number one. The two crews outfront comfortably, Great Britain and

:43:36. > :43:39.Serbia. The Czech Republic in that lane at number six, Jakub Podrazil,

:43:40. > :43:54.very good in that third 500 metres. The British boys still looking in

:43:55. > :44:00.control from the outside. You can see the grimace on the face. Rowing

:44:01. > :44:04.backwards so the Serbs can't see the British boys are sticking it on. If

:44:05. > :44:09.they got given a sniff they may well with the home crowd fancy their

:44:10. > :44:15.chance in a sprint to the line but at the moment... It's not over,

:44:16. > :44:20.James. I would wager the Brits are going to move away. They will have

:44:21. > :44:30.it their own way. Still hanging on for dear life. That band is going to

:44:31. > :44:34.get snapped, don't worry, they are going to disappear down the plug

:44:35. > :44:41.hole, those Serbs. Pressure on the foot structure, powering those legs

:44:42. > :44:50.down, they move away and say, not today thank you very much. Well

:44:51. > :45:02.timed, well executed, step-by-step through this now.

:45:03. > :45:18.Rossiter, Dawson, clear from Serbia. Czech Republic getting the bronze

:45:19. > :45:22.medal, everybody else assigned to another time, another Dave.

:45:23. > :45:30.Jacob, what an introduction to international rowing for you. Thank

:45:31. > :45:37.you, definitely an experience, special moment to break the dumpling

:45:38. > :45:41.if you will. Big celebrations for you at the finish. Seven years or

:45:42. > :45:47.something since your first international race, animating stat.

:45:48. > :45:52.So I did the British age group stuff then had a bad back injury and

:45:53. > :45:58.worked really hard to get back to this level. It means the absolute

:45:59. > :46:01.world to me, I've had good support from the University of London and

:46:02. > :46:06.the club really helped me on my way. It means so much, that's probably

:46:07. > :46:11.why celebrations were over the top. You can enjoy when you win. Now the

:46:12. > :46:15.Kiwi pair have retired there is a gap. But to say we will fill that,

:46:16. > :46:19.but nice to get the win today. You are back from the US system into the

:46:20. > :46:24.British system, smooth transition. It took a little while to get used

:46:25. > :46:28.to the different kind of psyche of University rowing compared to

:46:29. > :46:34.full-time training, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I love

:46:35. > :46:39.rowing, again, it's a great time. The men's pair another win, what did

:46:40. > :46:45.you make of that? Fantastic, two new guys in the team. Maturity. They

:46:46. > :46:50.were leading from the start, halfway they started to move through then

:46:51. > :46:54.had the confidence, that length of rhythm to move through the whole

:46:55. > :46:58.thing. Serbia had a challenge, they want to make an impact in front of

:46:59. > :47:04.the home crowd, the Brits held them off. A lot of potential. It's where

:47:05. > :47:07.the British team is now, very new, inexperienced people, winning World

:47:08. > :47:20.Cup straightaway. The women's quad is new. Stroked by Jess Leyden, the

:47:21. > :47:21.only British woman to have won and international schools championship.

:47:22. > :47:31.Let's find out more. I first started rowing at a rowing

:47:32. > :47:36.club, a project they ran cold project or some, it was run through

:47:37. > :47:40.a high school, so the school would put on a minibus every week and

:47:41. > :47:41.either go down and I got the bug from there and kept going through

:47:42. > :47:50.the summer. I love turning up every day, we've

:47:51. > :47:53.got new sessions, new challenges, I just love the hard graft.

:47:54. > :48:00.I don't know, sorry, can I think about this? The weather, yeah.

:48:01. > :48:09.My first national win and my single, my coach went out and said, do the

:48:10. > :48:14.best you can, we had no idea where I would come, and I managed to win it,

:48:15. > :48:16.so it gave me the bug for national racing and it led on from there,

:48:17. > :48:25.really. I would really love a go at boxing,

:48:26. > :48:27.but if I wasn't a row for my career, I would really want to be an

:48:28. > :48:38.engineer when I grow up. I don't keep any talented and, they

:48:39. > :48:41.are few and far between, but hobbies, I'm doing an open

:48:42. > :48:45.University engineering degree at the moment and I really enjoy that.

:48:46. > :48:49.It's the one thing I'm putting everything I have into, and yeah,

:48:50. > :48:59.just care about it a lot. Another event with just three crews

:49:00. > :49:04.entered today, so over to Gary and James to talk through the closing

:49:05. > :49:08.stages of this race. We're at the halfway mark and the second 500 for

:49:09. > :49:15.Great Britain's Leyden, Nixon, Bethany Brydon, Matilda

:49:16. > :49:17.Hodgkins-Byrne, they were into the second five with their powers inched

:49:18. > :49:22.ahead of the Netherlands in Lane number one. The Olympic silver

:49:23. > :49:28.medallists, two returning from that crew. Outfront consolidating what

:49:29. > :49:33.they had at the 500 metres, Poland opened up Clearwater. You would

:49:34. > :49:38.expect a strong third 500. The rain has continue to come down here at

:49:39. > :49:43.the lake in Belgrade, it's keeping the wind away, keeping the water

:49:44. > :49:49.flat. We seems good technique out this Olympic bronze medal crew. --

:49:50. > :49:56.we've seen some good technique. It's easy to look relaxed when you are

:49:57. > :50:03.over a length up. The polls look to have got a taste for the medals from

:50:04. > :50:07.Rio. They can claw back on the Germans who were the Olympic

:50:08. > :50:13.champions, who are not here. -- the Poles. Already a length up on the

:50:14. > :50:18.silver medallists from last year, so they've had a good winter. Many

:50:19. > :50:24.crews deciding whether to carry on or not for the four years to Tokyo.

:50:25. > :50:29.The Poles think, let's make sure we are a step higher next time around.

:50:30. > :50:32.They started off this Olympiad really well, the Dutch as ever

:50:33. > :50:37.consistent in the second half. The Brits in danger of being

:50:38. > :50:43.disconnected. Into the third timing mark. What you can see, Netherlands

:50:44. > :50:50.in Lane number one probably had the better of the three crews across the

:50:51. > :50:53.time. They've inched back on Poland. Netherlands, the Olympic silver

:50:54. > :51:04.medallists, two returning from that crew.

:51:05. > :51:13.Pushing on for the Netherlands in one. Your race leaders, Poland,

:51:14. > :51:14.there is an Olympic bronze medallist from last year, two of the crew

:51:15. > :51:33.returning. They have a 21-year-old stepping up

:51:34. > :51:37.from the under 23 is over the last couple of years. They look to the

:51:38. > :51:42.left. They are focused on the bowels of the Netherlands in one, putting

:51:43. > :51:47.them down. Still Clearwater but enough pressure being put on. As the

:51:48. > :51:59.camera comes out we see the bowels of the crew in third, Great Britain.

:52:00. > :52:06.James, you would have hoped, the British would have hoped to be

:52:07. > :52:09.closer, in amongst the mix in this opening regatta. It's difficult when

:52:10. > :52:14.you have crew number two and three in the world from last year and no

:52:15. > :52:19.other crew. If they bring six, they might have found themselves fourth

:52:20. > :52:25.or fifth. Right now, they are a long way at the back, it'll be a lonely

:52:26. > :52:33.place to be. Poland over the line by one length, Great Britain coming

:52:34. > :52:37.third. Will reflect on the women's result in a minute but turn our

:52:38. > :52:43.attention to the men's quadruple skull, they looked so good in 2014

:52:44. > :52:46.and 2015 but injury and illness put paid to their chances in the

:52:47. > :52:51.Olympics in Rio where they finished fifth. This is a new combination for

:52:52. > :52:59.a new Olympiad. Over to Gary and James. Great Britain won from

:53:00. > :53:05.Lithuania, Poland, Great Britain two. The Netherlands and Estonia. A

:53:06. > :53:13.lot of progress here. You mentioned the strength through the Olympiad.

:53:14. > :53:18.They didn't seal a medal in Rio, in 2013 they were the first British

:53:19. > :53:22.club to get a medal, and backed it up the next year. They were still in

:53:23. > :53:27.the Olympic final, which hasn't happened regularly at all. The

:53:28. > :53:32.hangover from that is a good one in that not many of the guys have

:53:33. > :53:35.dropped out. Unlike the rowing team of blister rated by retirement as

:53:36. > :53:45.the scholars feel they haven't finished the deal. -- obliterated by

:53:46. > :53:49.retirement. They have more experience within the squad and the

:53:50. > :53:54.rowing team it's a case of getting the right blend into the quad. They

:53:55. > :54:01.need to start off by showing the Poles a good race. Stannard

:54:02. > :54:12.responsible for coaching the British number one quad. The Poles came

:54:13. > :54:17.fourth in Rio. The perfect place for them to see their true speed. The

:54:18. > :54:20.Estonians on the podium last year, the Poles in the final, have been

:54:21. > :54:32.consistently, this is where they can find out. Halfway mark. Three boats

:54:33. > :54:36.neck to neck. Great Britain just ahead of claim four, Lithuania.

:54:37. > :54:40.Poland from Great Britain and Lithuania, all those boats class

:54:41. > :54:47.boat in an event that will get stronger and stronger. The speed of

:54:48. > :54:53.these things, the technique. Upon moving, stylish with them here.

:54:54. > :55:05.Coming out from John Collins in the stroke seat, backed up by Walton.

:55:06. > :55:10.Discord were in a final, they've good strength in depth. The Poles

:55:11. > :55:15.have been strong historically. Our boys right in the mix with the key

:55:16. > :55:19.players in this field. Within a metre of each other with 1200 metres

:55:20. > :55:25.gone. It's going to be exciting and painful. Lithuania coming right in

:55:26. > :55:43.their on the that pair were part of the ninth

:55:44. > :55:54.place quadruple skull from the Olympic Games.

:55:55. > :56:00.They have plenty of experience. Lithuania taking it on as the crew

:56:01. > :56:03.step out from the third 500 into the last quarter where they start to

:56:04. > :56:08.unleash the power, the speed will go up, the rate, they will start

:56:09. > :56:12.raising really hard, all or nothing in the last 500 metres. Lithuania

:56:13. > :56:16.went slightly ahead of the 1500 metre line, bringing Poland with

:56:17. > :56:23.them. We will see whether Great Britain are going to react. In about

:56:24. > :56:28.100, 150 metres, coming into it out of the 1500 metre mark, Lithuania

:56:29. > :56:33.jumped away from Great Britain. Going with them was Poland. The

:56:34. > :56:36.British have to respond. The Lithuanians have led their cards on

:56:37. > :56:41.the table, this is what we've got. They've gone early and take in the

:56:42. > :56:44.race by the scruff of the neck. If they'd gone too early it'll only be

:56:45. > :56:49.found out if the crew pressurises them. If they crack the other crew,

:56:50. > :56:53.the Lithuanians have gone, but if the polls think they've gone early,

:56:54. > :56:58.we can get them, they have a chance to see if they really did go too

:56:59. > :57:03.early. The Lithuanians right now they're brave move seems to be

:57:04. > :57:06.paying off. Australia are the Olympic silver medallists, watching

:57:07. > :57:13.all of this, very important whoever wins today. You've got to win

:57:14. > :57:17.this... You know they are lurking out there. You want a big statement,

:57:18. > :57:22.that is what Lithuania have done, they have opened up Clearwater in

:57:23. > :57:26.the opening stages. Lithuania from Poland and Great Britain. All right

:57:27. > :57:31.for the British, the quadruple skull, it is new, they know they've

:57:32. > :57:41.got people coming back in, it can be strengthened, it'll go faster. Do

:57:42. > :57:45.you feel they are roughly the same? Hard to compare. There were only

:57:46. > :57:49.three boat in the women's event, then to get the bronze medal. Such a

:57:50. > :57:54.hard medal to win because you know you came last but you still get a

:57:55. > :58:02.medal. What you need to take with that women's event is the gold and

:58:03. > :58:08.silver medallists on the podium, 50% of both crews were medallists at the

:58:09. > :58:10.rear Olympics. The British crew, very new, young, inexperienced on

:58:11. > :58:13.that level of competition... They were down on the finish line but

:58:14. > :58:17.there were moments in that race where they showed they had

:58:18. > :58:22.potential, class, what it takes. If you are looking at the long term.

:58:23. > :58:27.Bronze medal... Any medal is wonderful, to win by coming last in

:58:28. > :58:31.your event is hard. It's a first step for them, so it's great. The

:58:32. > :58:39.men were very competitive in the middle of their race. The men... The

:58:40. > :58:42.crew is new, Johnny and John, the stern pair, they came fifth in the

:58:43. > :58:46.men's doubles in Rio, used to being in the smaller doubles boat. It'll

:58:47. > :58:52.be a priority event of the men's team, the quad. They showed some

:58:53. > :58:57.really great sculling in the middle of it. They might be disappointed to

:58:58. > :58:58.finish in bronze, but the Lithuanians looked very classy

:58:59. > :59:10.today. Again, it's a first step. There have been two names in the

:59:11. > :59:16.last eight years with women's growing, that is claw-back and

:59:17. > :59:20.stunning. In Rio, they were dominant, winning their second gold

:59:21. > :59:25.medal at the Olympic Games. Since then, Heather has called it a day,

:59:26. > :59:30.returning to the Army, and Helen has taken a break. But two new names are

:59:31. > :59:36.in the women's pair, Holly Norton has made her senior debut in 2015

:59:37. > :59:44.and she is joined by Olympic Silver Medallist Karen Bennett. We went to

:59:45. > :59:48.meet them. These are the moments we live for, the crowd is willing them

:59:49. > :59:54.on, Great Britain will go into the record books with a medal! BAFTA

:59:55. > :00:00.Rio, incredible success, your first Olympics, silver medal. It is

:00:01. > :00:06.looking like a silver. Hang on, they have done it! What are your thoughts

:00:07. > :00:11.in a few months later? It is still settling in, does that sound weird?

:00:12. > :00:16.I am not sure. I still cannot quite believe I do have a silver medal and

:00:17. > :00:21.I had been to the Olympics. Sometimes I will be chilling at home

:00:22. > :00:24.on the sofa with my jogging pants on and I will see the Olympics and I

:00:25. > :00:30.will say, those are my jogging pants! As you do! The memories, I

:00:31. > :00:37.will always have them with me and take them with me. That he was such

:00:38. > :00:42.a great team. The high of Rio was so immense and fully enjoyed. Did you

:00:43. > :00:46.have a come down? I struggled in the winter time. Mostly January and

:00:47. > :00:56.December. The course I was very unfit. Because at had a great time

:00:57. > :01:01.after Rio. -- because I was very unfit and I had a great time after

:01:02. > :01:05.Rio. It was cold and getting up early was not great. It is the start

:01:06. > :01:10.of the Olympiad and you look forward and you think, I have another four

:01:11. > :01:14.gears of this. But knowing what you want in your mind takes you forward.

:01:15. > :01:20.That is what keeps you motivated and what you want to do every day. It

:01:21. > :01:26.was tough, but what is easy in life? If it was easy, why would you do it?

:01:27. > :01:32.Leading up to the Olympics in Rio, you are relatively new on the scene

:01:33. > :01:37.and now within six months, Iwata one of the most experienced, one of the

:01:38. > :01:43.people of the other athletes look up to -- you are one a quick change in

:01:44. > :01:48.a short space of time. Yes, a big change and everybody says, you are

:01:49. > :01:53.experienced attack -- experienced one, and I say, hold on, I am not.

:01:54. > :01:56.It is nice and I am here if everybody wants to chat, like you

:01:57. > :02:02.were when I came into the team, I like to think I can have that same

:02:03. > :02:06.job. Does it feel like you're starting again building on what

:02:07. > :02:12.happened in Rio? I feel like it is building on happened in Rio,

:02:13. > :02:19.individually. But as a team, it feels like starting from zero. From

:02:20. > :02:25.day one. Not in a bad way, in a good way, because it is such a different

:02:26. > :02:30.team. What coach will you be in this season? I am not sure, I am in a

:02:31. > :02:33.pair with Holly Norton for the first World Cup and European

:02:34. > :02:39.Championships, that is going forward for that. After that, I am not sure.

:02:40. > :02:43.What is your ambition for the year? I want to go to the World

:02:44. > :02:49.Championships and get a medal, that is my aim and my dream. It is a bit

:02:50. > :02:57.addictive, that winning thing! I know, it really is! Just three crews

:02:58. > :03:02.today so over to Gary and James for the closing stages of the race.

:03:03. > :03:11.But in a bit of washing now over the Netherlands in the one who are being

:03:12. > :03:18.pushed on by Netherlands two in lane three. Three boats in this final but

:03:19. > :03:23.for Great Britain's Bennett and Norton, it is establishing their

:03:24. > :03:29.place and this is the fastest women's pair in Great Britain, a won

:03:30. > :03:33.the trials and for them, it is setting down a big market in this

:03:34. > :03:39.event that has been dominated by Glover and stunning over the last

:03:40. > :03:43.Olympiad. Glover taking time out to think about what she is doing and

:03:44. > :03:49.Heather Stanning has announced her retirement. So it has opened up.

:03:50. > :03:54.This is a boat that Bennett and Norton can make their own. 35

:03:55. > :04:00.strokes a minute, looking good in the first 1,000. Out quick, a

:04:01. > :04:03.consolidated in the middle and in the third five, they have to make

:04:04. > :04:17.sure everything they have done sets them up for any charge from Lies

:04:18. > :04:21.Rustenburg. Karen Bennett is amongst the British crew that came second.

:04:22. > :04:27.The Dutch just digging now. They will also send a message out not to

:04:28. > :04:33.the opposition, but the British coaches to leave them in the boat

:04:34. > :04:37.they have chosen to row in and dominate the field. They were

:04:38. > :04:45.inching away nicely and the Dutch have moved back a metre and a metre

:04:46. > :04:52.and a half. Over the last minutes of this race, my aim would be to get a

:04:53. > :04:57.length ahead. It has been a bit sticky for Karen Bennett and Holly

:04:58. > :05:02.Norton in the last 200m. 1,500 metres in the first World Cup

:05:03. > :05:08.regatta in Belgrade. Just needing to inch out. Every stroke, take a

:05:09. > :05:15.couple of inches without having to fight for it. Because the Dutch have

:05:16. > :05:23.had the better in terms of timing and movement in the third 500

:05:24. > :05:27.metres. The British girls just starting to stop their movement as

:05:28. > :05:32.they came through. I think they will get to a length by the finish. If

:05:33. > :05:36.they want to stay in this boat, they need to and that is a do -- big

:05:37. > :05:45.difference between three quarters of a length. If you are a length up,

:05:46. > :05:52.you have got more in the tank. This length, you still danger zone. 2-1

:05:53. > :06:03.up in a football match, it can all change. The Dutch have pushed on

:06:04. > :06:09.hard but Bennett and Norton inside the last 200m coming towards the

:06:10. > :06:15.line. They have to respond because it is just about positioning and

:06:16. > :06:21.putting down a marker and that is what Bennett and Norton have done. A

:06:22. > :06:28.win is a win. Just hold fire and keep your heads up and keep your

:06:29. > :06:32.length so everything Rustenburg and van Veen push at them, this

:06:33. > :06:37.experienced cohesion from Great Britain. We are opening up towards

:06:38. > :06:44.the line. It is a very good start for the women's pair of Karen

:06:45. > :06:48.Bennett and Holly Norton, an event rate Britain have dominated over the

:06:49. > :06:53.last two Olympics. Half an event on the day, that is OK and just enough

:06:54. > :06:56.to give them a slight edge of disappointment that we would have

:06:57. > :07:02.wanted a little bit more, more to work on next time out.

:07:03. > :07:08.It was good to get out and see what was happening and win the race,

:07:09. > :07:13.which is great. World Cup leader at this stage and it will be very

:07:14. > :07:18.interesting, the Olympic champions Heather Stanning and Helen Glover

:07:19. > :07:22.not in it any more, looking towards the World Championships after that

:07:23. > :07:26.medal success? We are just taking it one race at a time, it is a long

:07:27. > :07:30.season and still early days and without thinking about the first

:07:31. > :07:34.World Cup and now we will focus on European Championships and take it

:07:35. > :07:37.that stage, we do not want to get too ahead of ourselves. That is the

:07:38. > :07:44.ultimate goal, to hopefully follow in their footsteps and heads to a

:07:45. > :07:47.World Championships is. But it is just one race at a time. In the

:07:48. > :07:53.commentary booth, they said the two British had big shoes to fill, is

:07:54. > :07:57.there a sense you have got that act to follow from Helen Glover and

:07:58. > :08:01.Heather Stanning? Definitely, but the great thing about Ben is that

:08:02. > :08:06.they are British. And also, we trained with them and we know, their

:08:07. > :08:11.scores, we know that if we can touch on what they have done, that is

:08:12. > :08:16.something special. And I think it is really good we have got that as a

:08:17. > :08:19.reference. We both still talk to them now and they are really

:08:20. > :08:31.supportive and we can always go up to them if we want any advice. Thank

:08:32. > :08:37.you very much. How old are you? 13. I have been growing two years. Why

:08:38. > :08:41.on Earth did you get started in this crazy sport? I have always loved

:08:42. > :08:45.sport but I have never found mine and this was another trial and I

:08:46. > :08:50.loved it. What made you come here? My brother started before me so it

:08:51. > :08:55.was just trying it. Do you have ambitions, do you do it because you

:08:56. > :09:01.love it? I do want to get higher up in sport because I have always loved

:09:02. > :09:06.competing. See how it pans out in the future. How much time do you

:09:07. > :09:12.spend at the club? I come down twice in the week and either day at the

:09:13. > :09:17.weekend. Do you watch rowing on the television would you not have time

:09:18. > :09:24.to do that? Definitely, it is the bond to see you racing. I queued you

:09:25. > :09:28.up for that! A fan of the Olympics? Definitely, in all sports, not just

:09:29. > :09:34.rowing. We will keep to rowing forever? Probably. Will we see you

:09:35. > :09:42.at the Olympic aims one day? Hopefully! That I will see you

:09:43. > :09:46.there! An athlete Katherine Grainger knows well, Vicky Thornley going for

:09:47. > :09:51.Great Britain. Do you get the sense that throughout your time with her

:09:52. > :09:58.she is hankering to do the single? No, I hope not! I had not thought of

:09:59. > :10:01.that! The double was our focus and that was great. She had been racing

:10:02. > :10:06.in the single and I knew that she was going to continue longer term.

:10:07. > :10:11.And to be honest, it is eight boat you really need to want to do, it is

:10:12. > :10:15.quite different from everything else in rowing and there is a different

:10:16. > :10:18.mentality. If you have a great coach and a great combination, you can do

:10:19. > :10:23.amazing things and she really wants to crack it. We have never really

:10:24. > :10:29.had a British woman to crack it before. You did quite well! I did it

:10:30. > :10:33.for one year and made it to the World Championships which was

:10:34. > :10:37.wonderful. I loved it, it was one of the bigger challenges in rowing. It

:10:38. > :10:42.is difficult to compete in, exciting and dramatic and you have complete

:10:43. > :10:46.control. I did miss the team element of people around me to motivate and

:10:47. > :10:52.to motivate me. For Vicky, that is almost exactly why she wants to do

:10:53. > :10:57.it, to do it on her own. Vicky but out a bloodthirsty picture on the

:10:58. > :11:01.back of her hand sculling. Taking chunks out of her right hand. Sorry

:11:02. > :11:07.if it has put you off is your cup of tea! That is the self-mutilation in

:11:08. > :11:12.sculling. She is obviously a very successful Olympian and that still

:11:13. > :11:16.happens. She has been it in the boat a while and she came back into the

:11:17. > :11:21.team in January so it is a short space of time to set up, but blood,

:11:22. > :11:30.sweat and tears is crucial. So a special shout out to Ekaterina

:11:31. > :11:35.Karsten who is starting a sixth international season. At first was

:11:36. > :11:47.brought the Soviet Union. Great Britain tucked away, Vicky

:11:48. > :11:52.Thornley Elaine four and in position, that is OK, that is all

:11:53. > :11:59.right. You expect the scholars to stretch out. Really bright and

:12:00. > :12:05.lively start from the Magdalena Lobnig, of Austria. The Norton just

:12:06. > :12:18.a little bit lower in the second 500 metres. When she has done the single

:12:19. > :12:21.previously, she has been, the weaker section has been the third quarter

:12:22. > :12:27.which she is in now. She is in fourth place now. It would be a

:12:28. > :12:32.great results to get on the podium. If she is going to do that, she

:12:33. > :12:41.needs to go now and just not get dropped by eight the Karsten, in

:12:42. > :12:48.third. -- dropped by Karsten. Gorgeous conditions, this is the

:12:49. > :12:54.conditions they relish. And Ekaterina Karsten, her traditional

:12:55. > :12:59.long and easy in stroke, and the power that goes down, you never see

:13:00. > :13:05.a massive change in rate. She puts the power down and squeezes, minimal

:13:06. > :13:10.changes in the rate, she is procompetitive, in layman two. The

:13:11. > :13:21.two time former Olympic champion, Ekaterina Karsten, from Belarus.

:13:22. > :13:26.Four. The race leader Magdalena Lobnig. This is where Vicky needs to

:13:27. > :13:32.go now, halfway through. Sensational scull at the 1,000 metres up for

:13:33. > :13:37.Austria's Magdalena Lobnig and she has opened up Clearwater. To

:13:38. > :13:43.Switzerland, Austria, Belarus and rate Britain. This is where it Vicky

:13:44. > :13:47.has struggled in the past, this 500 metres, this is where she needs to

:13:48. > :13:54.move on. Switzerland is a long way ahead but she is in the mix for

:13:55. > :14:01.silver. The Jeannine Gmelin has had a sensational second 500 and she

:14:02. > :14:06.kicks on from a Magdalena Lobnig. This is like a psychological battle.

:14:07. > :14:10.She is taking it on, sprinting out and taking on the marathon and

:14:11. > :14:14.trying to break Habberfield and to have done enough so when they come

:14:15. > :14:15.back as they will do towards the end, you have done enough in

:14:16. > :14:32.distance to hold onto York position. This is a lesson, from being at the

:14:33. > :14:36.sharp end of the field in Rio. They went into the doubles event at the

:14:37. > :14:40.Olympics not sure where they were, first they had to make the final,

:14:41. > :14:44.then the podium. It will have given them a huge amount of confidence

:14:45. > :14:48.leading into this race. If she can get a medal, a silver medal, it

:14:49. > :14:56.would be a great way to start off before the likes of Australia and

:14:57. > :15:00.New Zealand come into the mix. 6'3" tall, long strokes. She's got the

:15:01. > :15:04.power, got the Lethbridge, she knows that. We haven't had a push. You can

:15:05. > :15:08.see the boughs, the crowd responding. The British supporters

:15:09. > :15:15.responding to lane five, Vicky Thornley moving up into second

:15:16. > :15:22.position. Way out front, the Swiss taking on three quarters of the race

:15:23. > :15:29.gone. About 50 strokes remaining. A sensational position so far. The

:15:30. > :15:33.Swiss has taken it on and said, if you want to do something here, you

:15:34. > :15:39.have to go with me. Hard to see how she'll be caught from that. What

:15:40. > :15:47.Ricky has in her locker if she is taking a couple of strokes a minute

:15:48. > :15:57.less than both Austria and Belarus. She has room to get the extra speed

:15:58. > :16:07.from the extra strokes. And she can fight Gmelin on another day. She

:16:08. > :16:15.took a fair bit of time off after Rio. Bit of nip and tuck from blame

:16:16. > :16:21.number four. Not letting Thornley have the silver medal on a plate.

:16:22. > :16:32.The rate has come up from the Austrian sculler, Lobnig. Lobnig

:16:33. > :16:36.back into silver medal position. Not much in it. We need to see dynamic

:16:37. > :16:44.change of speed from Vicky Thornley for the Great Britain sculler. She's

:16:45. > :16:47.responding. Up comes the rate, squeezing the power, she knows she

:16:48. > :16:54.is the experience, the confidence, little look left ear. Vicky Thornley

:16:55. > :16:58.for Great Britain out front. Gmelin from Switzerland has made the race

:16:59. > :17:04.her own. The sculler is going up to the line, finally more speed, more

:17:05. > :17:08.rate coming from Vicky Thornley. She'll have to do it because Lobnig

:17:09. > :17:15.from Austria is making it hard. The fight is on to the line. Out front,

:17:16. > :17:20.Gmelin opens 2017 in fine form and the silver medal goes to Vicky

:17:21. > :17:26.Thornley, holding off Lobnig on the line. Great start to 2007 four Vicky

:17:27. > :17:31.Thornley. Destiny in her hands. If she wants to stay in the women's

:17:32. > :17:35.singles skull, to challenge for medals, it's down to her and her

:17:36. > :17:42.coach, Paul Reed. So far it's been a brilliant start. Really good start

:17:43. > :17:47.the season, happy with that. What was the best part of that race for

:17:48. > :17:52.you? I had more of a sprint than I thought. I put the hard work in in

:17:53. > :17:56.the first 500. I knew people would still keep having a go no matter how

:17:57. > :18:02.much I put into the third. I was happy how I control is how I wanted

:18:03. > :18:05.to move and when. You looked magnificent through there. Your

:18:06. > :18:09.coach was saying he didn't think you could get the rate up but you proved

:18:10. > :18:15.him wrong in that sprint for the line. He says don't worry about the

:18:16. > :18:19.rhythm, try to get up the side as quick as possible, so I took that on

:18:20. > :18:34.board. More to come in the middle I'm rating low. The single middle

:18:35. > :18:40.field is open. I'm looking forward to going home and putting some

:18:41. > :18:45.things in place, see how the Europeans go in three weeks. A good

:18:46. > :18:50.start for me, I'm really happy. Vicky Thornley there. A tough field,

:18:51. > :18:55.her first event, a medal. That is what sculling can be like, everyone

:18:56. > :19:00.talks about it being a gladiatorial event. The reactions and changes are

:19:01. > :19:04.so fast in a boat on your own, you are the only one who has to react.

:19:05. > :19:08.The boat speed is such you can change very quickly. The single

:19:09. > :19:12.skull moves around more. She's gone through the field, into silver, she

:19:13. > :19:16.was never going to challenge for gold today. So the silver was back

:19:17. > :19:17.under threat, that is when you are on your own, no one else can make

:19:18. > :19:28.the call, push you further. She fought to the end, that is what

:19:29. > :19:32.you'll walk away with, she won that battle. Not the fact she got silver

:19:33. > :19:36.behind goal, she won the battle for silver and bronze, it'll give her so

:19:37. > :19:40.much going forward. Not enough entries for a women's eights event

:19:41. > :19:47.in Belgrade, so we finish coverage with the men's race. The GB eight

:19:48. > :19:52.yet again had a new combination. One man left standing from the

:19:53. > :19:59.gold-medal crew in Rio. Tom Ransley. Over to Gary and James. The way for

:20:00. > :20:03.the men's eight blue ribbon event, four entries. There will still be a

:20:04. > :20:10.good benchmark for Great Britain to lay down. A new line-up from the

:20:11. > :20:17.Olympic eight that won in spectacular fashion last year. The

:20:18. > :20:24.Netherlands in one, Poland in a number two, Russia in Lane number

:20:25. > :20:32.four. Already quick starts. Top, the Dutch. It's a University crew

:20:33. > :20:42.selected. The first time it's been done since the 70s. There is the

:20:43. > :20:48.British crew. Tom Ransley sitting in the middle of that, in the five seat

:20:49. > :20:52.Olympic champion from last year. The British crew have to stretch out

:20:53. > :20:55.now. Good start, lovely, look at the beautiful water. Stunning. Four

:20:56. > :21:14.cruise weaving along. Lane but, Netherlands. The Polish

:21:15. > :21:28.will always be quick. Not much in it here as we go through the first time

:21:29. > :21:31.in 1:20 one. Good, quick time. The crews will start to stretch out. Let

:21:32. > :21:38.me take you through the British crew. Amstrad well, Tim Clark,

:21:39. > :21:44.Samuel are not. Cameron Brannagan, Tom Ransley, add a meal, James

:21:45. > :21:53.Rudkin at seven, Tom Ford. Leading the crew down the course is Henry

:21:54. > :22:03.Fieldman, very experienced. Age 20 eight. In the shadow of Phelan Hill

:22:04. > :22:10.in the last Olympiad. He's retired. The Dutch crew, the crew from the

:22:11. > :22:13.university, they will have been well drilled together but the ultimate

:22:14. > :22:19.undoing will be a lack of strength so as the race goes on they may get

:22:20. > :22:22.out of it and the Poles are a good unit, but not exceptional. The

:22:23. > :22:27.British, it may be closer than it has been in previous years, but I

:22:28. > :22:40.would favour them. Especially from 1250 metres to 1750, halfway coming

:22:41. > :22:45.up any minute. Just shy of quarter of a length over the Netherlands,

:22:46. > :22:50.Great Britain leading. Very respectable for this young crew,

:22:51. > :22:53.combination of under 23s. They can still be strengthened. Still class

:22:54. > :22:58.athletes to come back into this. Whether they come in this year, a

:22:59. > :23:06.lot recovering from injury, illness, surgery, Lee Cook out there

:23:07. > :23:10.completing his studies. Good start so far from a crew that can be

:23:11. > :23:16.strengthened as we go through the year, as we go through the Olympiad,

:23:17. > :23:24.early stages. This is where they need... They've got canvas over the

:23:25. > :23:27.Dutch in lane one. You want to just be another couple of meters ahead so

:23:28. > :23:33.you don't get involved in a ding-dong sprint for the line. It is

:23:34. > :23:37.a new formation, as soon as you start pressing the throttle too

:23:38. > :23:40.much, it'll become ragged. We want to have a little in hand as the

:23:41. > :23:45.combination. This is where they can take it out of the Dutch, they are

:23:46. > :23:49.university students, not full-time athletes. Watch the boat, the Dutch

:23:50. > :23:54.boat, flying. For University College crew here, they are well within

:23:55. > :23:59.contention here. With all due respect to the British crew. The

:24:00. > :24:05.first 500 from a speed perspective, Netherlands in their number one, a

:24:06. > :24:08.College crew, have not let Great Britain go. 50 strokes remain. This

:24:09. > :24:12.is where you will see the Netherlands really start... If they

:24:13. > :24:17.want to have a go at this they have to throw everything, keep their

:24:18. > :24:29.composure. The boat running nicely. Better length in the British crew.

:24:30. > :24:34.Long and right up to it. I seem to have my rose tinted spectacles on

:24:35. > :24:37.when it comes to the depth and strength we have in the team. I was

:24:38. > :24:45.disappointed they didn't move further away. We have a race on.

:24:46. > :24:51.Lane number one. The first female cox here, and an international level

:24:52. > :24:56.woman coxing a men's crew, driving on. The Dutch crew from the

:24:57. > :25:02.Netherlands taking on the Great Britain crew in their number three,

:25:03. > :25:10.in amongst it, Poland to the right. Russia out of the picture. Strength

:25:11. > :25:17.and determination is going to be Britain's thing they rely on. Let's

:25:18. > :25:21.see what's happening. The Dutch crew, the College crew representing

:25:22. > :25:26.the Netherlands in one. Netherlands going up, Great Britain going up,

:25:27. > :25:33.and the Netherlands have beaten the College crew from the Netherlands

:25:34. > :25:44.have taken out in such spectacular form the crew from Great Britain.

:25:45. > :25:49.That is a major, major upset. A good race, hard race. I think we went off

:25:50. > :25:53.with the intent we wanted. We learned a lot out there. Confident

:25:54. > :26:00.there will be more to come. Still very early in this project, so... A

:26:01. > :26:05.different feel for you from the eight in Rio to this crew. What was

:26:06. > :26:08.it like in the middle of the race? Struck that and perhaps you would

:26:09. > :26:16.expect from such early part of the season. It's a new eight. Last time

:26:17. > :26:20.it was a four year project, as the underlit, polished. On a sharp

:26:21. > :26:26.learning curve. I thought we did well. Plenty we can take home an

:26:27. > :26:29.improved for the next race. Such an exciting race, you must have thought

:26:30. > :26:33.you had it in the bag with 500 metres to go, than that tremendous

:26:34. > :26:38.Dutch charge. I would never let myself think it's over. I thought we

:26:39. > :26:41.were going well through the 500, as we went through the gears we were

:26:42. > :26:48.going well but we didn't have enough on the day. We'll go home, lick our

:26:49. > :26:55.wounds, analyse more. You're looking forward to the Europeans. What is

:26:56. > :27:02.the potential for this crew? There is a huge amount of potential. We're

:27:03. > :27:05.fortunate to have such a big base of athletes. We're really well

:27:06. > :27:10.supported from the national lottery. There is so much expertise in the

:27:11. > :27:16.coaches and stuff, I'm sure over the next few weeks we're going to step

:27:17. > :27:19.on and the Europeans hard. That it from the racing in Belgrade. The

:27:20. > :27:24.training sessions have come to an end here in Trafford as well. We're

:27:25. > :27:27.back in three weeks with coverage of the European rowing Championships

:27:28. > :27:33.from the Czech Republic. That is Sunday 28th of May on BBC Two from

:27:34. > :27:37.330. Don't forget there are highlights from the opening Diamond

:27:38. > :27:42.League athletics event of the season in Qatar. That's tomorrow afternoon

:27:43. > :27:45.from 1pm. Before we finish, let's have a little chat about the men's

:27:46. > :27:52.eight, what did you make of it? Amazing race, take away the bias.

:27:53. > :27:56.Very exciting race, what it should be. Hugely disappointing for the

:27:57. > :28:01.British team, I know they are new, she said, only Tom still in there

:28:02. > :28:05.from the Rio boat. We can't have huge expectations, they will still

:28:06. > :28:14.want to win. Overall from the British team? I could be wrong, in

:28:15. > :28:17.my card I made 11 votes. The 11th was fourth place. Positive results

:28:18. > :28:22.wise. With the caveat some of the big nations are missing. USA,

:28:23. > :28:27.Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany to come in. You race or is

:28:28. > :28:31.there. We both know you take on the opposition that is there. Some

:28:32. > :28:35.exciting performances already I think work well for the future and

:28:36. > :28:39.this is the first learning step. Team GB will leave with a lot of

:28:40. > :28:44.medals but knowing where to go next. It's crucial looking forward. You

:28:45. > :28:48.can see exactly where we're going next. A special thank you to

:28:49. > :28:53.Trafford rowing club for all their hospitality today. I think we've run

:28:54. > :28:56.them out of tea bags. Until the European Championships in three

:28:57. > :29:03.weeks, it's goodbye. Surely the British have done just enough. Very

:29:04. > :29:06.good start for the women's pair of Great Britain. The Netherlands have

:29:07. > :29:13.taken out the crew from Great Britain. A really nice way to get

:29:14. > :29:15.your first World Cup victory. Three reasons we love Eurovision -

:29:16. > :29:19.the costumes. Ah, yes!

:29:20. > :29:21.Who could forget the milkmaids? The passion.

:29:22. > :29:25.We are unstoppable.