Six GB Rowing Team crews won their heats during the initial racing session of the season's second world cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, this morning.
Helen Glover and Heather Stanning opened the racing programme with a comfortable win in the women's pair that prompted Glover to say, looking forward to tomorrow's semi-final session: "That was a good, solid first race and we're looking forward to tomorrow and stepping up".
Callum McBrierty was inevitably dubbed "super-sub" when he raced in the heat-winning GB men's four along with Moe Sbihi, George Nash and Alex Gregory. The victory took them direct to Sunday's finals.
GB's other heat winners were the men's quadruple scull - who looked good in their new seat order of Peter Lambert, Sam Townsend, Angus Groom and Graeme Thomas - and the light and open weight men's pairs of Joel Cassells and Sam Scrimgeour as well as Nathaniel Reilly O'Donnell and Mat Tarrant.
Alan Campbell, brought the tally to five but he has a quarter-final this afternoon whilst the light and open men's pairs and the men's quad are all into the finals.
Richard Chambers and Will Fletcher were happy to get a first racing run-out for the season in the lightweight men's double scull and are through to tomorrow's semis.
Both GB eights were in action in the preliminary races to seed the lanes for Sunday's finals. The women showed well to take second behind the Olympic Champion Americans and the men, involved in what looked like a tactical battle, were third.
Zoe Lee, stroke of the women's eight, said: "We didn't show all our cards today and I'm very confident in this group of women looking forward to the final".
Brianna Stubbs and Ellie Piggott race a repechage of the lightweight women's double after placing fourth and they will be joined at that stage of the process by the two GB open men's double sculls and the second women's pair of Louisa Reeve and Vicky Meyer-Laker who have been thrown together in the last three days with Reeve replacing a poorly Donna Etiebet.
Race Report
Helen Glover and Heather Stanning scythed through the mirror-like Rotsee lake this morning in Switzerland in the opening race of the season's second world cup in Lucerne.
By the 500m mark they had built a good lead and at halfway were four seconds ahead of their women's pair field. It came as no surprise therefore that they crossed the line to win by a decent margin in 7:08.80. Germany were second and took the only other progression slot for tomorrow's semi-finals.
Louisa Reeve and Vicky Meyer-Laker, racing in Lucerne as "racing-spares", were in action next in the women's pair heat. America made the strongest start with GB in fourth but very much in contention. As the race moved into its second half, the GB boat dropped back with the South Africans and Chinese showing well.
Alan Campbell led comfortably throughout his heat of the open men's single scull to progress to the afternoon's quarter-finals. He was challenged briefly by the Mexican before pulling away again.
Brianna Stubbs and Ellie Piggott, former World U23 medallists, featured in a heat this morning with the 2014 World silver medallists Lindsay Jennerich and Patricia Obee of Canada. Small wonder then that the Canadians had a length lead over the Chinese and Danes at the halfway with GB sitting in fourth. Only two could qualify direct for the semis. Piggott and Stubbs were ultimately fourth.
Great Britain and Norway were the front runners to the halfway point in the equivalent men's event. Richard Chambers and Will Fletcher were getting their first run-out of the Olympic season. With Norway in the lead both crews were being chased by the USA.
Just after halfway the British got their bowball ahead with the pace much faster at this point than the earlier heat, featuring the French favourites. It was neck and neck as the crews drew closer to the grandstands.
Norway went on to win with the USA coming through strongly into second. The British crew knocked the pace on the head, secure of taking the third qualifying slot before they hit the grandstands stretch.
Joel Cassells and Sam Scrimgeour were comfortable winners of their lightweight men's heat. They were challenged briefly two-thirds into the race by Italy but they had enough to hold off their challenge and that of the Spain in the final 500m. Their victory puts them direct into tomorrow's finals.
Varese world cup winners Nathaniel Reilly O'Donnell and Mat Tarrant were involved in a tight tussle with the Dutch, silver medallists to them in Italy in early May, and Spain in the early phases of their men's pair heat. The World coxed pair Champions came through strongly with 600m to go to hit the front and hold on to win in 6:26.11.
In a fabulous heat of the men's double scull John Collins and Jonny Walton were involved in an exciting three-way battle with Germany and New Zealand. Only as the crews approached the grandstands did the Germans come through to take the win with GB and NZ in second and third both winding down to the line as they realised that the one qualifying slot for the final was beyond them.
Nick Middleton and Jack Beaumont pressed hard in the opening half of their heat and were lying second only to the World Champion Sinkovic brothers from Croatia. in the final 600m the Lithuanians came up to take second. and go to the repechage with the British crew who were third.
The lightweight men's four racing at World level is always billed as exciting and close. Today's heat featuring Chris Bartley, Mark Aldred, Jono Clegg and Peter Chambers proved no exception. Everyone bar Uzbekistan remained in with a shout at halfway with only two qualifying places for the final on Sunday.
Third at 500m, the GB quartet got its nose ahead at halfway from where they pushed out to a half-canvas over Denmark with 500m to go and the Dutch in third.
Could GB hold out against the Danes as the race went stroke by stroke to the line? No the Danes has enough to take the lead with the GB crew holding firm to second and safely into the final on Sunday with the French finishing third.
Racing in a changed seat order, with Peter Lambert at the bow and Graeme Thomas as stroke, the GB men's quadruple scull wrapped up the heats action of the opening world cup session. The combination, also featuring Sam Townsend and Angus Groom, took the lead just after halfway but it was tight with the USA. Only one crew could qualify for the final and it ended up as GB who stretched out their lead in the final 750m to win in 5:50.44 with Switzerland coming up to take second and the Americans fading dramatically.
The GB women's eight was second only to the American Olympic and World Champions in their race for lanes. The men's eight followed up with a third place in a race won by the Dutch with Germany in second.