Rowing: Drysdale pipped on line for World Cup singles crown

Mahe Drysdale led for most of the race. Christopher Lee / Getty Images

New Zealand rower Mahe Drysdale was pipped on the line in the singles sculls final at a World Cup regatta in Switzerland last night.

Drydsale, last year's world champion, controlled most of the race before being run down in the closing minutes by Norway's Olaf Tufte in Lucerne.

Tufte, the reigning Olympic champion, timed his surge perfectly.

Drysdale was timed at 6m 47.80s for the 2000m journey, 0.025s behind Tufte.

Drysdale, who won his event in the second World Cup regatta in Poland last month, was the first of six New Zealand crews to enter the water for the first session of A finals last night.

The Lucerne regatta marked the last serious hitout for all the crews ahead of the world championships next month in England where New Zealand will defend four titles won last year in Japan.

The women's pair of Nicky Coles and Juliette Haigh recorded significant improvement on their efforts in Poland but still could finish no higher than fourth in their final.

Relegated to the B final last month, Coles and Haigh qualified for the A final last night but were no match for the United States duo of Megan Cooke and Anna Mickelson, who won in 7m 12.78s.

Germany 1 and the Netherlands finished in the minor placings, ahead of the New Zealanders, who were almost 8s adrift of the Americans.

The fact Coles and Haigh made the A final was put into some perspective by the fact the Australian and Canadian crews opted to skip the regatta as they look ahead to the world championships.

Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater atoned for their failure in Poland to win the men's pairs final in some style.

An atrocious start last month saw the 2005 world champions plummet to fifth by the finish but Twaddle and Bridgewater made sure of a safe, strong start last night.

Challenged hard by Great Britain's Colin Smith and Tom James, the two New Zealanders shifted up a gear after the 1000m mark to surge one boat length clear.

They conceded the lead briefly in the closing stages as the British came back at them but Twaddle and Bridgewater had enough in reserve to respond and hit the line in 6m 24.36s.

The British were next in 6m 26.05s, with the third-placed German crew almost 10s behind them.

Again, prominent crews from Australia and Serbia and Montenegro were missing from Lucerne, but the New Zealanders' response to their hiccup last month bodes well for the world championships.

New Zealand's three other crews were to contest their finals in the second session overnight (NZ time).

Olympic champions Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell were looking to secure the seventh World Cup gold medal of their careers, while the other New Zealand boats seeking reward were the men's four and novice women's eight, who qualified for the final in just their second international outing.

- NZPA