The Tideway fixtures for the 2020 Boat Race campaign kicked off on Saturday 1st February with races for prospective Goldie and 3rd 8 lineups against IC I and II. In rough wind-against-tide conditions, both crews gained from the racing and acquitted themselves well against challenging opposition.
Goldie’s first piece took them from the start to the Chiswick Steps with Goldie on Middlesex. Both crews were close throughout the piece, unable to break loose in the chop and waves. By the finish, Goldie had eked out a 3/4 length victory, holding strong on the outside of the long Surrey bend.
Having acclimatised to the rough conditions, Goldie dominated the second piece from the Steps to the Finish line, quickly taking a lead that they built upon and used to dominate the final piece, running out victors in the second piece by 4 lengths.
The young 3rd 8 crew, looking toward the Head of the River Race, took on IC II over the same pieces as Goldie, with the margins split between the two crews. The first piece to the Steps saw IC II gradually increase a lead as the piece progressed, aided by the inside of the Surrey Bend. Although the 3rd crew stepped on through the piece, IC ran out victors by 2 lengths.
The second piece was a different story, as Cambridge took the inside of the bend and the initiative of the piece and were never headed, drawing out to a 2 length margin.
CUBC’s next Tideway fixture will be against Oxford Brookes University BC on Sunday 1st March, with the Blue Boat-elect and Goldie-elect racing.