Amped up for Amsterdam
World Cups are awesome. They’re all about the racing – four rounds packed into three days. That’s enough adrenaline to flush out the accumulated psychological sludge of an eight month off-season. Racing reminds you why you slogged through all that training…and training…and training.
It is hard for me to not be there this weekend. I can picture it: warm and sunny on the water. Smiles in bloom as athletes see who else survived another long winter. Handshakes, hugs, and Pidgin English conveying rumors of who’s in good form. Lots of laughing.
Whatever it looks like on camera, everyone’s more relaxed at the World Cups. The game faces can wait to harden for the World Championships. This is just good racing fun. Results at World Cup count, but only as a chance to build up for the World Championships.
Here, now, everyone has fresh clean kit, a shiny new boat, and a whole season’s worth of possibility ahead. That leaves a lot of room for optimism and excitement. Reporters hover from a little further away and they don’t absolutely have to have a quote right now. Coaches can do their hand-ringing from home. Yep, the World Cups are all about the rowers and the racing - just the pure joy of the sport. I really wish I were in Amsterdam to start my season.
And what a start the World Cups are. The opening Heats are a blast. Literally. Top finishers get a free pass through the second round “Repechages.” That’s French for “you don’t want to be here because it’s a lot nicer in your air conditioned hotel room where you can be online watching your competition suffer.”
This makes the Heats a mass sprint off start followed by an extended bluff through 500 meters, 750 meters, 1,000 meters, 1250 meters…whatever it takes until enough boats fold and everyone can paddle slowly to the finish. Usually. If a Heat’s close too long, guys suddenly find that they’re already too far invested and they have to push all-in. That ends especially badly for someone who gets to do it again that afternoon with nothing saved in reserve. That hurts. In 2003 and 2004 Tucker and I won all our World Cup Heats and that led to some medals in the finals. It helps to win your Heat.
The five boats The U.S. sent to Amsterdam this year could win some Heats. We have new lineups in the light men’s and light women’s double sculls. I’m excited to see how they do in tight fields. The light men’s double has the added variable of trying to make the US “time standard” to secure a spot on the World Championships team. Our selection process in the U.S. is…let me say…complicated. Think of this situation with the light men’s double as a bonus variable, just like the Tour de France’s green and polka dotted jerseys, except, it’s a World Championships red, white, and blue unisuit. Yes…the bottom line is, if there’s a building tailwind on Friday, we might see them want to go to the “Reps” to have their best shot at hitting 6:27.99.
In the single scull, Jon Burns has always impressed me with his determination and consistent improvement. This will be a great chance for him to check his speed against a top field and see what he can learn.
The quadruple sculls event is all about momentum, and everyone’s curious how our new combination gets going. They’ll be without Sam Stitt, who might be our top team-boat sculler. He moved out of the quad into the open double this year. I wouldn’t want to be in his Heat tomorrow.
So, the Heats are Friday morning with Round Two “Reps” that afternoon. The Semi-Finals are Saturday morning with Finals on Sunday, LIVE on WCSN starting at 7:50 AM.
I feel the adrenaline, already. I’ll be watching, cheering, and training back here in Boston. Nine months now, and counting. I sure wish I were in Amsterdam.
Good luck to all who are.
Great,
Greg
Greg Ruckman won the “light double sculls” World Cup in Munich, 2003. He has won one World Championship and finished sixth and seventh in the Olympics. He hopes to win a medal in the “light four” at the 2008 Olympics.