Third World Cup - Munich

Last weekend saw the last World Cup race of the season.  It ended with disappointment and opportunities lost.  I raced the same pair (with Cam) that raced in Lucerne a few weeks earlier. 

Post Lucerne we had a really positive week of training, I felt like we were building from a reasonable start.  Then we had to split up to cover illness in other boats and came back together with just over a week to go.  From that point onwards we seemed to struggle to find the cohesiveness we have had.  Our work at higher rates seemed to be better than at paddling, so not all was lost.  Going into the final World Cup there had been a few crews pull out who had ranked above us in Lucerne.  This meant we should really move on up, without letting anyone behind passing us.

Racing started OK.  We caught a buoy early in the heat, which meant we had to truck back through the middle of the race.  The Frech dominated from stroke one and so the single qualifying spot was sewn up early doors.  We tested a slightly different race strategy and it meant we came through 2nd overall, the French clear.

The repercharge was the next morning.  I think we both had a clear idea of what we were looking for - a strong start (getting in the mix) and then turn the screw on the field through the third 500m.  Our pace was a little slower than I would have normally expected and as we went through 600m to go the wheels came off and we crawled to the line, 3rd (top two into the final).  I don't know what happened, but we finished with Cam exhausted while I felt well within myself.  Normally we would both have emptied the tank equally, I was a bit concerned.

It meant we had the B-Final to race early Sunday morning.  Our main opposition would be the German top pair (winners of the first World Cup) and the Australian 2nd pair (we had beaten earlier in the heat and in Lucerne).  I was worried that we would have a major blow out (like the previous day) and so the first 1250m was all about setting up a consistent but "within ourselves" pattern.  We were then able to step on and have a dog fight with the German pair.  The Aussies found pace they hadn't previously shown and were ahead by a length.  In the final stages of the race we were neck and neck with the Germans, sadly just losing out, but with a much stronger final 750m than the previous day.

Overall a disappointing regatta, I think it's best to just put it behind us and move on.