Munich Day 1 - TT and Heat

Tom Solesbury looking crisp at bow (far right)



Today has been a busy racing day.  It started with a TT at 1:35pm and a heat at 18:36pm.

We, along with most GB crews, performed strongly in the TT.  This is for two reasons 1) we are a really strong team competing for medals in most events 2) other nations couldn't be bothered.  For some the TT offered a chance to skip a round and go straight to the semi or final; for others, like the men's eights, it didn't really mean a whole lot and was more of a formality.  We took this challenge on and performed well, others backed off and minced down the course.  You say tomato, I say tomato.  We posted the fastest time of any boat.

As evening approached, we prepared for the heat.  We drew Germany, Netherlands and China - all strong crews, particularly Germany who are the reign world champions from 2009 and 2010.  Our race was a mixed bag, showing some great strengths and things to learn from.  We came second to the Germans by two seconds with the Dutch and Chinese a few seconds behind that.  The first place gives the Germans a bye into the A-final; we will race the repercharge tomorrow at 16:06 local time (15:06 BST).  You should be able to view it at worldrowing.com/live-results.

Tom Solesbury was "puckering" today as he realised he had forgotten his racing all-in-one (main piece of clothing).  Thankfully for him I often carry a spare in my bag and so was able to lend him one of mine - might have been a bit tight, but they performed well and qualified for the A-final.

I've been updating my Twitter now and then; I threw a few people off with a tweet that posted while I was on the start line - you can follow me @nrod2012.  Keep an eye out for some mid-race tweets.

Matt Wells has had his ghost writer typing for him again at redexpress2012.com.  Today's post cover's nine ways to execute a time trial.  They left off "No. 10 - The Hogwarts Express" - it consists of the Weasley twins, a couple of brooms each and a stiff yellow snake to use as a boat; then just let the magic happen.