Angus Groom underlined his credentials for a seat in one of GB's top Olympic boats by winning the GB Rowing Team winter assessment, raced today in blustery conditions, in the open men's single scull.
The 23 year-old former Durham University student saw off the challenge of Olympic bronze medallist Alan Campbell in the final 500m of today's race.
His victory was all the more remarkable coming just weeks after intensive treatment for a disc problem and after enduring, like all today's finalists, two back-to-back time trials before the finals.
"I feel more satisfied than surprised", he said. "I feel that I had a good training camp up in the Sierra Nevada recently and set a personal best on the ergo, so I knew that I was back to my best physically.
"I was slightly ahead at halfway and thought I would give it my best shot and I knew that Alan has a devastating sprint finish so I wanted to row that out of him early in that second half".
"Like everyone here, I have big ambitions for this year", he added.
Twickenham's John Collins put in another big trials performance to finish third overall with Jonny Walton, of Leicester, in fourth.
Wrexham's Vicky Thornley won the equivalent women's event which was raced as two time trials from which the accumulated time counted.
Penzance's Helen Glover, despite not being a habitual sculler, came second. She and Heather Stanning are Olympic, World and European Champions but are normally more focussed on the women's pair.
Londoner Melanie Wilson, recently qualified as a doctor, was third and Durham's Jess Eddie put in a strong performance also as a non-specialist sculler to take fourth.
Thornley said: "I won the last trial so I didn't want to go one worse than that. Everything has been going well in training and I knew that all I needed to do was to execute it on the day. I won by a decent margin, so I've got to be happy with that".
Gloucestershire's Pete Reed turned round a showing at last weekend's British Rowing Indoor Championships which he described as "embarrassing, such a poor result" to win the open men's pair final with Constantine Louloudis.
"It was quite a turn-round. I don't know what happened last weekend but I'd like to say thanks to the physios, especially Sally Brown, who work with the team. They have helped loosen off the whole area around my rib cage and diaphragm. Before that I felt really restricted.
"So I am pleased with the result today which was achieved in good fashion against top opposition. Stan has a big engine and he is great to row with".
Louloudis, nicknamed "Stan" said: "I think what we do really well is that we know when to bring out our ‘A' game. We paced the time trials really well to get into the final. We have faith in each other and we row well together".
The ding-dong battle at the top of the lightweight women's sculling group continued today with Tees' Olympic Champion Kat Copeland emerging to win the single scull time trials from Imogen Walsh, reversing the result of six weeks ago. 2013 World bronze medallist Ruth Walczak was third.
Copeland revealed after the race that she had sought out advice from sculling Olympian Sam Townsend to help her tackle the back-to-back time trials.
"The men have done two time trials like that before. So it helped speaking to him. He talked about putting a lot into the first trial and trusting in yourself to recover during the row back to the start. So I was able to put in a really good middle section of the first trial and still had enough to do well in the second one.
"It was pretty hairy out there at times. I caught a crab in the first race and almost ended up finishing in the wrong lane as it's quite "crossy" [a cross wind] at the finish".
"I'm pleased with that. It helps that it was with a tailwind and not into a headwind.
Will Fletcher was, like Groom, another jubilant first-time winner, taking the honours in the lightweight men's single. "It's exciting, I've never won a trial before", he said.
"It was a question of just going out and trying to reproduce what I've done in training but they were pretty tricky conditions to be honest so I just kept thinking, "don't fall in, don't fall in".
Coleraine brothers Richard and Peter Chambers were second and third respectively.
The rowers now face more internal testing and trialling before the Christmas break.