The first Sunday in November has been dominated by one race: the November Fours. Although it is never a particularly crowded race in the student fields, that does not mean that the level is very poor. On the contrary, the women’s four field is even attended by several Olympians. Due to the small fields, the double fours are combined with the coxless fours.
Nereus 1 & 2 (4+)
The weekly sparring matches that many clubs organise themselves on weekends are now being held by the ladies of Nereus in front of a much larger audience. Each boat will have one Olympian on board (Martine Veldhuis and Bente Paulis) and the rest of the boats will be filled with excellent talent. Although a 4+ is a tough category for such a distance, both boats are likely to race across the water at an extremely fast pace.
Njord (4x+)
The ladies from Leiden use the same construction as the Nereids, but now with an extra gear: three of the four rowers from the quadruple sculls started the World Championships just a month ago, where two (Lisa Bruijnincx and Margot Leeuwenburgh) of the four rowers from this boat won gold in the quadruple sculls.
Nereus (4x+)
As a spectator, there is one boat you cannot ignore. In the quadruple sculls field, reigning Olympic world champion Karolien Florijn will be competing together with three other strong rowers from Nereus. Karolien has just returned from Boston, where she won the Head of the Charles in the skiff. With the four of them, such a long distance suddenly doesn’t seem so long anymore.
Orca (4x+)
Orca also has a world champion on board. Fortunately, Lisanne van der Lelij does not have to row the boat forward alone. She has a few strong ladies around her. For example, Tosca Kettler, a lightweight lady who won the women’s elite skiff field two weeks ago.
Prediction
Although there are not many boats to watch, the level of competition is no less impressive. The first race for the brand-new world champions also shows the “normal” public how great Dutch rowing has become. In the fours, it is already clear that Nereus will take the win, but this is not yet certain in the double fours. Njord could still have a good chance of winning a medal, although Orca could also make it difficult for them.
