GB take brave route for World Championships
Great Britain's rowing hierarchy could have panicked over the last few weeks. After winning six Olympic medals - two gold, two silver and two bronze - to top the medal table in Beijing, the squad have looked decidedly ordinary of late.
The last two World Cup regattas have brought just three victories and although GB won the World Cup series overall, that was mainly because two of their biggest rivals - Germany and New Zealand - missed the opening event while the other, Australia, didn't even take part in the series.
But they have still opted to continue their experiment for this year's World Championships in Poznan, Poland, in August, putting veterans in new situations and giving experience to younger athletes, with a confidence and bravery that has arguably been lacking in the past.
The most experienced woman in the squad, triple Olympic silver medallist Katherine Grainger, has moved into a single for the season, winning in a weak field in Spain but not making the podium in two events since.
And the men's pair of Andy Hodge and Pete Reed, the front half of the Olympic gold medal winning four who have been the country's fastest pair for five years, have been experiencing a form of Groundhog Day, finishing behind New Zealand duo Eric Murray and Hamish Bond at their last three encounters. (There is footage of Henley here and Lucerne here if you can bear it.)
GB Rowing have agreed with UK Sport a target of four medals at the World Championships in Poznan, Poland, in August but still they are not feeling the pressure to look short-term and put their best rowers in the boats with the best chances of medals.
The men's four of Matt Langridge, Alex Gregory, Richard Egington and Alex Partridge looks most likely to win in Poznan.
Coach Jurgen Grobler could have guaranteed gold by adding Reed and Hodge to the combination, following the route he took in 2004, when he added James Cracknell and Matthew Pinsent to a four that was already strong.
But instead, he has opted to stick with line-ups that could - if all goes to plan - race in London in three years' time, and to give them valuable extra experience.
Smaller boats like singles and pairs offer better learning opportunities as there are fewer places to hide and the world's better athletes tend to compete in those classes.
And these new projects have offered veteran competitors a way of staying fresh in the year after the Olympics, when motivation is always most difficult.
"I haven't thought about another boat since we got into the pair. We don't want to run off to an event we think will be easier," said Reed, who has clearly had enough of being asked how his crew is going to beat New Zealand.
The slightly longer-suffering Hodge added: "You've got to look at ways of stimulating performance and making the next step.
"For London we're there to win a gold medal and this is the first step."
Grainger's reasoning is similar, although the prospect of reuniting her Beijing quad of Annabel Vernon, Frances Houghton and Debbie Flood sounds like it may be a possibility when the latter two return from year-long sabbaticals.
"I want to be the best I can be, particularly in three years' time," she told me.
"In the first year of the four-year cycle leading up to 2012 it seemed to be the best plan to move me on.
"There was always the question of, if I wasn't medalling in the single, could I jump into another boat and possibly get a medal and that was an option but I would have been undermining the reason for doing it in the first place."
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts. Are they right to stick with the current project or should they have use the better rowers to strengthen crews with a better chance of gold medals?
I risked outstaying my welcome at the crew announcement at Caversham, gathering interviews that will run in the lead-up to Poznan, while the squads are at various training camps around Europe.
While the GB kitbags are being packed, the rest of the country is preparing for the National Championships in Nottingham this weekend, an event that rarely sees a GB international.
With the World Championships to be held in New Zealand in October next year, though, the big boys and girls will be given a break after the World Cup season.
As Beth Rodford mentioned in her blog recently, they enjoy those rare chances to race in front of a home crowd so let's hope they take this one - they may not get another chance before 2012.
I'm Martin Gough and I cover all Olympic sports but in particular rowing, which I've been a fan of since the age of three, when I watched on TV as Cambridge sank in the Boat Race. 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~33~RS~)
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It's still very early in the Olympic cycle and it's too late to make significant changes in the line-up that will win at this level. The Autumn is the time to take stock.
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A big mistake, they have sacrificed what looks like a nailed on gold in the four for a silver in the pair and a medal in the four.
There is experimenting and there is experimenting. Ask yourself what will the effects on morale be if the team win no gold medals at all and then say experimenting is worth it!
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They would be mad to change the crews at this stage. The crews are sound and pushing people into other crews for 6 weeks at this level would be unhelpful. Reassess after the worlds.
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The much vaunted Hodge & Reed pairs project is already under pressure, with a serious lack of technique and speed compared to the rhythmic Kiwi combination. Another loss at the WC will be absolutely demoralising for both crew and coach Grobler alike. The current four will also come under intense pressure from the Aussie Beijing silver medal winners in Poznan. Should the four be beaten...the GB heavyweight mens sweep squad will return to the uncertainty that existed after Pinsent & Cracknell placed 4th at the 2003 Milan WC. A case of history repeating itself, with the only saving grace.... is that we are in the first year of the Olympic cycle. Yes, the early season comparison of H & R by some scribes, with Redgrave and Pinsent was both premature and disrespectful. World Cup success, doesn't necessarily translate into World Championship or Olympic glory.
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I am interested to see what and when the other two from the Beijing four come back. Where will they be placed? Steve Williams going for a third gold, and #####, young and already a winner. Willthey go into the four? Into the 8? Or form a coxed pair to 'bloo' them in a smaller boat?
My concern would be, if I were in the pair, that although the olympics take precident, how being in a position where you justify being in a medal winning baot, but being kept in one which is unlikely to win this year. Being the best pair in Britain entitles you to be in the fastest combination.
However it is too late to do much about it now, and certainly up to Henley if not Lucerne the combination wasn't obviously so far behind. So for me, i think they will work as hard as possible in the pair this year. The New Zealanders are just so good this year, it will be interesting to see how they progress next year too. If they have peaked, and Hodge Reed have not then there is all to play for, but if they are on the way up also, it is best to avoid the pair.
But what of Williams and James? Are they coming back? That will make waves, stregthening the 8, shuffling the four, and maybe forming a whole second four, to replace/race the exisitng one in early world cup series next year?
On a more speculative note, and probably unlikely and awkward to try, but i think Langridge in a pair with Hodge would flow better, be able to rate higher, and be a more solidified unit. I am not sure if I'm going to far to say that Reed is a little TOO tall for a pair? At higher rates he doesn't look as co-ordinated or polished as anyone in the four or Hodge. I think he would fit in niceley into the 5 seat of an 8...
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A bit heavy on journalistic licence:
1) "Coach Jurgen Grobler could have guaranteed gold by adding Reed and Hodge to the combination, following the route he took in 2004, when he added James Cracknell and Matthew Pinsent to a four that was already strong."
There is no such thing as guaranteeing a gold. You may be able to increase the chance but that's it. True of Olympic level sport and also true at sunday league level.
2) "the squad have looked decidedly ordinary of late."
The Beijing results were six medals (2G, 2S and 2B) with ten crews in finals.
The most recent (Lucerne) results were five medals (2G, 2S and 1B) with 10 crews in finals. And this was with the womens 8 and Alan campbell at home, The mens 2x not doing the final due to illness and the womens 2x losing a top athlete due to illness.
Looks to me like they've sustained the performance level.
3) You've not given direct mention the women's lwt 2x which won gold art past 2 regattas.
GB Rowing is self exacting and demands winning standards. However give some degree of balance.
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There is no way that the crews should be changed at this stage in the season. It is relatively pointless, and would result in fewer medals at the worlds rather than more!
I have a suspicion that if and when Steve Williams and Tom James return next season Jurgen will re-create a version of munich's 'Super-eight' from last season. I'd imagine it's line up would be something like this - Williams, Langridge, Hodge, Reed, Egington, Partridge, Gregory, James.
If the returning two don't qctually return I'd imagine that Partridge would go to bow, with someone like Sbihi coming in. I'd bow rig it and go with the following line up -
Langridge, Gregory, Reed, Hodge, Sbihi, Egington, Partridge, A N Other(!)
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That sounds exciting, but do you really think he'd leave the four? How about a stronger four, say Hodge, Reed, Langride and Gregory, then a stronger 8, with or without the returning Williams and James? Either way way it would be exciting, and I think the 8 with a season or two would be amazing, but very un-Jurgen to go for that.
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