All race reports for Pedro Salgård Cunha

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Event: Cambridge Autumn Head 2005 - College IV-
Posted as: Pedro
Event Link

We managed to stick fairly well to the race plan with a good 'second start'. Steering was an issue though, due to little rudder effect, resulting in a number of, towards the end high-pitched, calls from Dan that stroke side should pull harder :o) We could probably have taken 5-10s of the time if we had rowed in our own IV- (we borrowed one from Robs because Tobias managed to rip one of the footplate sliders off by pulling to hard :o) )

Overall a good first race with good pushes and lots of determination. It bodes well for the Uni IV.

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Event: University IVs 2005 - 1st division
Posted as: Pedro
Event Link

Clare have been talking themselves up (or perhaps have been talked up by over-confident supporters) all term, and put in an excellent showing at Autumn Head, so we were prepared for a good hard row today.

We went off hard (took half a length).
We pushed hard to the Railway Bridge (took another half).
We pushed hard out of the Railway Bridge (took another quarter).

At this point they realised they were in danger of losing and gave it everything in their death throes. We wavered slightly, but as their push fizzled out they dropped back again and our rhythm returned, taking us through Top Finish about two lengths up. Yes!!

Erica :o)

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Event: Robinson Head 2006 - 1st division, 1st run
Posted as: Pedro
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1st row: a bit rushed, plenty of aggression but it didn't quite go as far as it might have done because the rhythm was a bit lacking.

2nd row: much better technically, but we lost the killer edge and didn't take advantage of the better rhythm as much as we could have.

So, the worst of both worlds in some sense. But disregarding the "race" aspect of the day, I think there are a lot of positives, in particular that we do have both the rhythm and the power and just need to have them more consistently on at the same time!

Erica

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Event: May Bumps 2006 - Wednesday
Posted as: Pedro
Event Link

Well, this was approximately the result we'd been expecting, given the relative speed of Corpus and Binson. I'd told them to race to Grassy; in fact, the end came considerably before that as Binson floundered under pressure. After that there was little question of what would happen. The nearest crews were out of sight behind them so it was down to an easy paddle for the rowover.

The result is disappointing for M5, who are so clearly superior to all of the rest of the division (only Corpus II, now 7 places higher, being of a similar standard). However, tomorrow should give the crew a chance to prove what they are capable of.

Erica (not Pedro)

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Event: May Bumps 2006 - Saturday
Posted as: Pedro
Event Link

Hurrah! Well done guys! Another fantastic race taking it teeth-grittingly down the Reach. King's II started badly, had a couple of small crabs coming around the corners, but put up a great fight to keep ahead until Ditton. A massive push past the Plough took M5 to overlap, but it was only half-way down the Reach after a good minute of continuous whistles that the umpire declared the bump.I'm fairly sure it happened at Ditton actually, but that's a bit academic. Really determined rowing, as we have seen all week from M5. These guys knew they could do it and just went out and held on for it. Congratulations on the 4th division place!

Erica (not Pedro)

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Event: Fairbairn Cup 2006 - Senior VIIIs
Posted as: Pedro
Event Link

Beat: Emma, Caius, Clare.

Ahead of us in the Lents: Emma, Caius, Clare.

A solid and committed row from all eight; could have done with a little more finesse but that is something we'll be looking to build on next term. If we can keep this level of fitness up over the holidays we will be well set for an even more awesome Lent term.

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Event: Fairbairn Cup 2006 - Lower VIIIs
Posted as: Pedro
Event Link

Welcome to the senior squad, girls! I hope to see lots of you at training camp in January.

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Event: Cambridge Head-2-Head 2007 - 1st division
Posted as: Pedro
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Having just started rowing in a new post-BUSA lineup, and still without a set crew, this race was more about getting in a good long head piece and bringing the rhythm together than it was about pushing any boundaries.

The first leg was surprisingly good in terms of basic rhythm, which came together a lot more nicely than it had in the previous few days even at the higher rating. However, we struggled to bring our pushes solidly together and took longer than necessary to overtake (on the outside of Grassy!)

The second leg started reasonably well but we never quite found the same comfortable rhythm we had had in the first piece. However, we did respond to lifts more cohesively and coped reasonably well with the headwind.

It was a pleasing addendum to win pots for the row, but the small margin to the following crew (Newnham) suggests that we need to raise our game in the coming weeks. Luckily, there is a lot of potential to do that :o)

Erica