Saturday recap: an amazing first day at the Aegon Koninklijke - Holland Beker.

Jun 30, 2018

Saturday recap: an amazing first day at the Aegon Koninklijke – Holland Beker.

As temperatures soared at the Bosbaan, spectators were able to watch some high quality rowing from the comfort of the shade. Among the highlights of the day were the preliminary heats of the main events: the Holland Beker (M1x) and the Ladies’s Trophy (W1x).

In the battle for the Holland Beker, favourites Mahé Drysdale of New Zealand and Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic secured their spot in the semi-finals by winning their heats. Among the others joining them are Julius Peschel from RC Hannover, Peter Tufte from Norske Studenters Roklub, and Dogus Koker from the Tilburg-based club Vidar.

In the Ladies’ Trophy, German international Annekatrin Thiele, Mette Petersen from Danske Studenters Roklub, and Euros’ Minke Holleboom all finished first in their heats, earning themselves a direct spot for the semi-finals, as well as second finishers Janneke van der Meulen, Cara Grzeskowiak, and Baukje Zaaijer.

In the final of the LM4-, Indonesia proved to have a quick boat as they held off the crew from Hong Kong right from the start. A few minutes later, the M4x were dominated by the Amsterdam crew from Skøll. The Dutch men blasted off in front of the Indonesian quad to take a convincing win. The crowd were in for an exciting finish in the M8+, with the Dutch men’s junior eight falling just short of beating a composite of US rowers.

In most other races, members of the Dutch national team were a cut above the rest, providing the spectators a textbook example of elite rowing. However, not only the senior Dutch crews proved to be the best, also the Dutch Under 23 M2x crew were untouchable in their race, finishing in front of the Czech Republic.

As the afternoon progressed, it was time for the grand finals of the national Development competition, an event which encompasses multiple regattas. The winners are decided by a point-based system, based on regatta results. At the Aegon Koninklijke – Holland Beker, the final points were up for grabs, and for some crews this meant the final chance to battle for the end victory against the leaders of the competition. In the WDev2x the crew from Aegir managed to do just that, winning by just 0,4 seconds ahead of Proteus-Eretes. Another close race in the LWDev2x, where Triton finished just shy of second in front of Euros, who both had an equal amount of points prior to the finals at this regatta.

The first day of the Aegon Koninklijke – Holland Beker was closed off with the repechages for the Holland Beker and Ladies’ Trophy, and under 23 and lightweight single sculls finals, where rowers from Hong Kong, Willem III from Amsterdam, and Njord from Leiden took home the medals. Tomorrow will feature even more hotly contested races, as the battles for the Holland Beker and Ladies’ Trophy will reach their exciting conclusion. We hope to see you all tomorrow at the Bosbaan!