Heineken Roeivierkamp
Posted by Jozef Klaassen | Last modified on 18 March 2010
Last weekend’s races proved to be exhilarating. The current 13-strong group of the Holland 8 split up into various club and composite teams to provide some of the best racing recently seen on the Amstel. As the weekend drew near, the common consensus along the banks of the river was that there were four very fast teams out on the water, each one of them capable of capturing the top prize, as well as two or three other strong runners.
From an ergo-perspective, the Okeanos-Triton-Gyas-Skoll composite had by far the strongest line-up; their powerhouse was lit up by names such as Roel Braas, Kaj Hendriks, Mechiel Versluis, Rogier Blink and Matthijs Vellenga (from the legendary Beijing four), a bunch with enough strength to permanently twist their shell out of shape. Looking less beefy but more technical, the Federation lightweight squad came together in an eight to show off their colours. Facing off the composite boats, the club eights of Skadi (with Mitchel, David and Olaf) and Nereus (with Jozef, Lucken and Vincent) were both brimming with Dutch internationals, putting on a fine demonstration of power combined with skill. Other prominent Dutch crews included Njord (with Harmen) and the second Nereus boat, with a strong presence from the national U23 squad. Finally, another five foreign crews were the wildcards of the field: three eights from the Tideway in London, and a pair of German boats.
The Heineken Roeivierkamp is a weekend of races over several distances: 2500m, 250m 750m and lastly 5000m. All races take place on the Amstel with the finish line for each of the races being the Nereus Boat Club. Skadi dominated the first races on Saturday, as they built up a solid lead over the rest of the field. The Okeanos composite failed to live up to expectations, finishing second in front of the Nereus club boat. The lightweights found themselves relegated to sixth place after an unfortunate collision with an unruly Tideway crew under the last bridge.
Day two began with the 750m in the morning. Those crews who failed to fire up on the first day were able to make a last ditch effort for a medal through spectacular performance in this race. This turned out to be easier said than done, as several crews struggled to maintain the high stroke rate necessary to make an impact during this distance. Skadi earned another win, and the top three medal rankings remained unchanged for the afternoon’s session. Notable mention, however, goes to the lightweight team, who recovered some of the loss they had suffered on the first day.
The afternoon 5km race is a head race, with crews starting approximately 20 seconds behind the team just below them on the leader board. The Lightweights (coxed by our own Holland 8 coxswain Peter) headed out behind a stack of boats, and the Muda twins in the stern hammered out a veracious stroke rate that would set the pace for crews to come. Out to prove a point, and unwilling to let their lack of horsepower play them down, they charged through the field ahead. Behind them, Njord preceded Nereus 2, who had done well during the 750m in the morning and were attempting to take on the more senior crews. Nereus 1 came next and two but last; they got off to a fast start, but were unable to head off the Okeanos-composite, who conclusively demonstrated that power was the fastest asset for the strong head wind. Okeanos thus finally managed to get the better of Skadi, who seemed to feel the strain of their previous races. Skadi sill managed to finish a respectable second during the 5000m, retaining their first place overall.
Most of these crews use the Heineken as a warm-up for the 8km Head of the River Amstel, with the 5km race offering prognostics on next weekend’s racing. Although Nereus 1 and Njord will not be competing, we look forward to the final showdown scheduled to take place this Sunday! The Okeanos-composite were faster than Skadi over the longest distance of the Heineken, will Skadi be able to turn the tables round? Also, the lightweights were looking better and better during every race they rowed, so they might surprise us if they get the following wind they long for…
See you this weekend!
