Raceroei Regatta 2025 – Men’s Elite/Intermediate Single Preview

Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/people/136184247@N04/

The 2025 Race Roei Regatta, held outside Rotterdam at the Willem Alexander Baan (WAB), will be the qualification event for Dutch crews aiming to race at the FISU Championships. For many crews, this will be their first 2km race in the combinations they are developing for Henley Royal Regatta. The WAB is renowned for wind and rough water, and this weekend seems no different, as crews expect a light headwind.

The men’s singles will compete in the intermediate event after there was only one entry in the elite category, from Sjoerd Scheper. He, like many others, missed out on the top 24 at the NK Klein but is a strong sculler. Last season, he won the elite event at the Westelijke. The rest of his career has been focused on larger boats, so seeing how he performs in this event will be interesting.

Marijn van Haaster is the most experienced sculler in the intermediate field and trains at Asopos de Vliet in Leiden. He had a successful season last year in the intermediate B single and double, winning several events. This year, after racing in the A-final at the Varsity in the senior coxless four, he returned to the single for the early regattas but missed out on a podium finish in the Intermediate category.

Raphael Fromont has been developing alongside some very strong scullers at Skøll. He already won in the double with Jelmer Immeker this season but has now shifted to the single. Last season, he focused on development-level sweep rowing and collected several medals, but he has now begun his sculling career. He didn’t make it past the repechage at this year’s NK Klein, so he’ll be looking to take a win in an event no longer dominated by national team members.

Bastian van Gerwen, the Njord sculler, has primarily come from a sweep background, achieving good results in the coxless four and eight last season. While he began sculling last year, he raced this season’s national championships in a pair. However, he now seems to be returning to sculling to secure his first win in this category to close out the summer.

Prediction

With the most experience, Sjoerd Scheper should take a clear lead in this event. Among the intermediate athletes, Raphael Fromont of Amsterdam’s Skøll will likely be the strongest contender, having trained through the winter with a very competitive squad.