This Valentine’s weekend marks the start of competition season with the 51st Van Oord WinterWedstrijden in Delft. All crews have been training for months, mostly in cold, wet and rather dark conditions. The five-kilometre-long race is especially exciting for the first-year crews, as this will be their first race against all crews and their first race on water. The only time the first-year women’s eights have raced before was at the NKIR, the indoor erg race. Only six crews participated. This Saturday, 13 crews will line up at the start.
Nereus
Nereus enters the WinterWedstrijden with the strongest paper credentials. Their performance at the NKIR set the early benchmark. If erg speed translates to water speed, they will be difficult to beat over five kilometres.
Laga
With home water on their side, Laga will be a serious contender in Delft. Their NKIR results may have lagged slightly behind Nereus’s, but anything can happen over five kilometres.
Triton
Triton surprised many by taking third place at the NKIR. In previous years, Triton’s results have not been as strong, but this year the crew arrives fitter and better prepared. They finished just one second behind Laga at the NKIR, powered by a strong final sprint that showed their potential to challenge other crews in the final metres.
Prediction
As seven of the 13 crews have not raced before, it is rather difficult to make an accurate prediction. I can only predict based on the NKIR results, which indicate that Nereus will be the one to beat on Saturday.
