Author: thomas_admin

The 125th edition of the Aegon Koninklijke – Holland Beker has been won by the World Champion Ondřej Synek, while German Olympic Champion Annekatrin Thiele proved the strongest in the Ladies’ Trophy.

Ondřej Synek wins the Holland Beker

In the Holland Beker final Drysdale struggled with the waves at the start, while Synek blasted off to take an impressive clear water lead early in the race. Mahé Drysdale pushed at the halfway mark. It seemed a good move as Drysdale pulled into a clear second place in front of Julius Peschel and crawled back towards Synek. The Czech remained in full control however, and charged on to win in a time of 7:41,98.

Synek: “It took me a minute longer than last year. It was a tough race. But I love it here, it is my second favourite course, and I’m really happy to be back’’. Drysdale commented: ’’It was good to have some tough racing, probably a bit frustrating out of the start, but it was good that I managed to turn it around during the race. It felt like I finished strongly’’. About losing his brand new Fillipi shell in an accident this week, Drysdale replied: ‘’Thankfully nobody got hurt. I have my back-up boat, which is the boat I rowed in Rio, so it’s not a bad back-up boat to have’’.

Annekatrin Thiele wins the Ladies’ Trophy

There was no stopping Olympic Champion Thiele in the final of the Ladies’ Trophy as she pulled clear from her opponents in the first 100 meters. With an explosive rowing style, Thiele cut through the waves and the headwind to accumulate a lead of 16 seconds at the finishline. In her wake, Mette Dyrlund Petersen from Danske Studenters Roklub and Cara Grzwskowiak from Capital Lake Rowing Club emerged in second and third place respectively. The best Dutch rower was Euros’ Minke Holleboom finishing in fourth place, almost 6 seconds off the podium.

Congratulations to the top three finalists of the Holland Beker and the Ladies’ Plate!

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!

As the temperatures soar towards 30 degrees Celsius in Amsterdam this afternoon, the weather won’t be the only thing heating up today: on the Bosbaan rowing course, rowers from all corners of the world will race for the many cups, trophies, and medals of the regatta. We’ve made a selection of exciting races to watch this afternoon at the Aegon Koninklijke – Holland Beker.

The first final of the day is the LM4- at 13:24h, promising to be a fierce contest between two Asian powerhouses, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Both national teams have entered two crews, so not only will they be looking to beat the other nation, but also their compatriots. A crew from Indonesia will also be in the hunt for medals in the M4x at 13:36h. They will face the national quad from Thailand, as well as Henley-bound quads from home favourites Skøll, and the French INSA Lyon.

More national teams, including Dutch crews, will contest in de W4- and M4- at 14:15h and 14:22h respectively. In the Women’s four, a selection of the Dutch squad will race crews from Indonesia, Denmark, and Germany, as well as a Dutch four bound for the FISU World Championships in China later this year. The men’s four will put their new line up to the test in preparation for the Lucerne World Cup, facing experienced crews from Proteus-Eretes, University of London, and a Dutch combination including the two Rienks brothers, Rik and Ralf.

Anyone looking for a textbook example of elite sculling should take a ride on the moving grandstand for the LW2x at 14:30h: The Belgrade World Cup winners Ilse Paulis and Marieke Keijser will probably be in a league of their own, given that they were close to beating the World’s Best Time in Belgrade earlier this year. At 14:52h, the M2x final will be the stage of an interesting battle between the Dutch Under 23 men’s heavyweight (Gyas/Aegir), and lightweight (Skøll/Leythe) crews. Spicing up the fight are national crews from the Czech Republic and Thailand.

For those who want to scout a future Olympic champion, make sure you turn your attention to the water from 15:40h, when talents will get the opportunity to show their speed. We start with the finals of the Development competition, which is the culmination of a number of races for points throughout the Dutch national season for promising sophomores and juniors. We then continue with the finals of the hotly contested under 23 single sculls. The day will finish with the repechages of the Holland Beker and Ladies’ Trophy to determine who will advance to tomorrow’s semi-finals.

Follow all races on the livestream!

Last weekend on the 24th and 25th of June, rowers from all over the world came to Amsterdam to compete in the biggest international regatta in The Netherlands. Now, two days later, we look back on a successful and highly competitive weekend of rowing. We would like to thank everyone who made this year’s Holland Beker such a great event: specifically the organising board, our sponsors and patrons, and all the volunteers who gave their time and effort to make this regatta happen. Last but not least, we would like to thank all athletes who came over to the Bosbaan to race. It is an honour to host rowers from all corners of the globe, including the world’s best, and have them competing against each other in the Netherlands.

A special thank you goes out to everyone who came out to watch the races, or followed us online. Whether you came to support your favourite crew or just wanted to have a great time with the famous Holland Beker picknick, you made it a pleasure to organise this event!

The Holland Beker and the Ladies’ Trophy

Finally, We would like to congratulate the winners of our main events, Ondřej Synek, who raised the Holland Beker for the fifth time in his rowing career, and Inge Janssen, who is the first Dutch winner of the Ladies’ Trophy since 1995. They both gave an amazing masterclass in elite rowing, and have proven to be the best in the single sculls this weekend.

Next year, the Aegon Koninklijke – Holland Beker will be held on the 30^th of June and the 1^st of July. We hope to see everyone again next year!