Rowing: Small start to big year for NZ rowers

Single sculler Emma Twigg. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

A massive year for New Zealand's rowers begins with small ripples on a picturesque Slovenian lake this weekend.

Just three crews in black singlets will contest the first World Cup regatta of the year on the thermal waters of Lake Bled, with expectations more circumspect than at most world events.

It is the first international hitout in a year that climaxes with the world championships at Lake Karapiro in November.

It means single sculler Emma Twigg, world champion men's pair Hamish Bond and Eric Murray and the women's quadruple sculls crew of Paula Twining, Louise Trappitt, Emma Feathery and Harriet Austin are unlikely to blast away from strong fields.

Rowing NZ high performance manager Alan Cotter still nominated the pair as strong prospects, although they must overcome the British duo of Peter Reed and Andrew Triggs Hodge, whom they eclipsed for world championship gold in Poland last August. The New Zealanders' training has been curtailed by a rib injury suffered by Bond at the national trials in March.

"We'll see how they go, I'd say they'll just get better and better, it's a long season going through to November," Cotter told NZPA.

"We're still doing long miles and work. We'll peak for November, this is just part of the process you go through, it's racing."

All crews, coached personally by New Zealand head coach Dick Tonks, are involved heats on Friday night (NZT), followed by semifinals on Saturday and finals on Sunday.

Twigg, fourth at the world championships, will have to contend with regular conquerors Ekaterina Karsten-Khodotovitch of Belarus - the world champion - and Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic.

There are only nine women's quad crews in Bled but the likes of world champions Ukraine and Great Britain will be hard to topple.

New Zealand traditionally don't attend the first of three World Cups each year but were motivated to have a presence at Bled, where next year's world championships will be held, doubling as an Olympic Games qualifying regatta.

Tonks, New Zealand manager Jan Taylor and the rowers were keen to test the facilities and logistics and were happy with what they had seen.

"It's all coming together well," Cotter said.

"The accommodation is right on the lake, they're using bikes to get to training and the boat park is at the other end of the hotel.

"We're making sure we have all bases covered and are getting to know the environment there."

The bulk of New Zealand's large team in Europe this summer will arrive ahead of the second World Cup in Munich from June 18-20.

That includes four-time world single sculling champion Mahe Drysdale, who was scheduled to compete at Bled but pulled out because of a nagging injury to a disc in his lower spine that has limited his training time since March.

Cotter said Drysdale was making steady progress on Lake Karapiro.

"He's back doing some light training. He's not up to the full kilometres yet but he's looking good and feeling better."

- NZPA