Boat Race 2021: Cambridge win as they defeat Oxford in men's and women's races

A report follows here imminently. It was an unusual renewal, but the straight, fair course produced two excellent races. Cambridge won them both: the women as expected, the men slight second favourites. Well done to all four crews and thanks for following this with us.

throwing of the coxes.

immediately post race?

"If I was the Oxford cox I would have steered into those reeds and forced a restart."

 

are unable to speak: even the cox cannot get any words out.

Nearly a length the margin. Cambridge went out hard, they took a very bold line with their steering and they have upset the odds.

it is Cambridge who are going to do it! 

is it too late for Oxford? There are 750 metres left and they have it all to do.

As we come to the 1000 metres remaining mark, Oxford are gaining again. But now Cambridge come again.

It looks like Cambridge might be playing their hand. They are really going all in at the moment, they are trying to win the race from here.

But the umpire warns them again. The experts, such as Katherine Grainger on the BBC, are saying that this is a really good close race.

Cambridge are keeping Oxford at bay, but you sense that the momentum might have shifted?

Oxford have cut that lead to about half a length now. Are Cambridge starting to slow? Are they feeling the effects of that burst?

Oxford put in a burst there but Cambridge still hold the lead.

Umpire warns both sides that there is some stuff in the water ahead of them. Reeds or driftwood or something. She tells the sides to spread out.  They both get through whatever it is okay.

The umpire sounds furious! She's yelling "CHARLIE! CHARLIE! CAMBRIDGE!" at, well, at Cambridge - she reckons that they are cutting Oxford up. Cam in the lead but getting across Oxford.

Cambridge are well ahead. Cambridge are nearly a length ahead and just shepherding Oxford towards the bank. 

Cambridge are getting repeatedly warned.

Great start from both sides. Oxford higher strike rate, Cambridge clean long strokes. 40 strokes per minute now. Cambridge are slightly ahead at one minute.

men's race umpire Sarah Winckless makes her final checks. First woman to ump the men's race.

Both coxes have their hands up. Are they ready? Oxford are. Cambridge...... are not. And now both are! They're off! 

says that there's not too much wind, it is a straight and true course so the faster boat will win.

and massive getting a good workout there.

Cambridge's recent stranglehold on the Women's Boat Race continued as they claimed their fourth successive win over Oxford, prevailing by less than a length in a unique year for the showdown between the two universities.

Moved away from its usual residence along the Thames to Ely in Cambridgeshire for the first time since the Second World War due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the race was a nip-and-tuck affair along the Great Ouse.

Oxford were repeatedly warned by the umpire for encroaching on their rivals' line but Cambridge held their nerve, establishing a slender lead after halfway which they never surrendered as they triumphed on Sunday afternoon.

Dylan Whitaker, the winning cox, was full of praise for his opposite number Costi Levy.

He said on BBC One: "Massive, massive props to Costi because she steered like an absolute champ. That was close but we knew what our plan was, we kept it calm and loose and it worked."

Sarah Tisdall added: "Awesome race, massive congrats to Oxford. That's the closest boat race the females have had. Awesome day for women's sport and really proud of this team. It's been awesome."

there for Cambridge has Chrons disease. Wow. Must be a tough customer to reach this level with a condition like that. More power to you Ben.

Sounds like there's at least a few folk there to give them a cheer.

Before that, a feature about Pete Reed, who is a veteran of this race. He won three Olympic goals for GB. Then he had a shocking mishap: a spinal stroke. A very very rare condition, and he lost movement in his legs.

Seems like an inspiring guy. Incredible attitude and positive attitude.

seven of the nine of them would have been in the cancelled race last year. They have been together for a long time and perhaps that experience and togetherness helped them.

A close, hard-fought contest. Oxford were warned multiple times for trying to encroach, who knows whether that was a deliberate tactic or not, but either way it didn't quite work and the better team won on the day.

A smattering of spectators cheering them on, it's Cambridge who are going to do it. They celebrate. The Oxford girls come a brave, but well-beaten second.

A length clear for Cambridge now but the Oxford women are fighting all the way. They are not giving this up just yet.

Cambridge have a little bit of a lead, and they also have the home advantage of knowing the course, the distance. But now it is Cambridge that is warned for coming across. Cambridge are ahead now, clearly ahead.

It is Cambridge that is piling it on. Have Oxford played their hand too early with that tactic of trying to squeeze Cambridge towards the bank earlier? Will cox Costi Levy rue that tactic?

It's Oxford up by maybe a third of a length. Cambridge are starting to go for a bit of a burn.  It's a good race this, close and well contested, and with some tactical intrigue in as much as the Oxford cox is constantly encroaching on the other boat's water. Umpire has given her repeated warnings.

is getting repeatedly warned for coming too close to Cambridge. We are coming to 1500m of the 5000m. Cambridge are hitting back.

It is neck and neck. In fact, Oxford are pushing ahead just. 

If there is a clash, it's Oxford that is risking disqualification. Oxford are coming back but they are the boat that looks like they are having to push it.

Oxford are given a second warning. They are told to move away. They are scrunching the Cambridge women towards the bank.

90 seconds in, Cambridge have settled better and are ahead.

Oxford are given an early warning for coming together.

Oxford ready.

GO!!!

have their hand in the air. Both have now lowered them. We are ready. Oh no the Cambridge one isn't happy. Ooh there is considerable to-ing and fro-ing. The tension builds.

are ready at the start.

Cambridge women have won 44 to 30 from Oxford.

that the wind would make this super gruelling but that is not the case. Quite still there. But the crews are very close together, it is much narrower than the river Thames.

Seem like nice young people.

The Oxford men are 4/7 favourites with Cambridge at 5/4.

is explaining the tactics to dear old Rishi. Matthew has been the cox for Cambridge twice. 

on a pre-recorded video. He's running along the bank with his famous dogs. Olive and Mabel. 

Straight shot. No bends. James Cracknell has compared it to "a cycling time trial. It's about who can hold their hand in the flame the longest." 

The crews have only been able to train fully for four weeks. They got into an elite bubble a month ago.

Women's race crews

Oxford: Megan Stoker; Anja Zehfuss; Martha Birtles; Amelia Standing; Julia Lindsay; Georgina Grant; Katie Anderson; Katherine Maitland; Costi Levy (cox)

Cambridge: Adriana Perez Rotondo; Sarah Portmsouth; Abba Parker; Caoimhe Dempsey; Anouschka Fenley; Sophie Paine; Bronya Sykes; Sarah Tisdall; Dylan Whitaker (cox)

Sophie Paine says that they have won the toss and will start on the railway side of the river. This means they start a tiny bit behind but they think that that sees them better treated to the wind.

have won three times in a row and with more knowledge of this, their home patch, are strongly fancied to make it four.

The Cambridge women are 2/9 favourites to win; the Oxford team are priced up at about 11/4.

begins with an historic montage, Music For A Found Harmoium, and now Clare Balding on the riverbanks of the Great Ouse.

from our rowing expert, Rachel Quarrell.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same" is the story of this year's Oxford versus Cambridge Boat Races.  The 192-year-old event gets its biggest makeover in a century and a half today, moving off the changeable tidal Thames to the calmer waters of the Great Ouse at Ely, but the pain, sweat, tears and ecstasy of those taking part this afternoon will feel the same as in every previous year, regardless of surroundings.  

Visually it's a complete switch, from a 6779-metre curving course hemmed in by west London's buildings on an unpredictable tidal river to an arrow-straight virtually featureless 4890-metre waterway which has more in common with a docile canal.  The only observers will be the local wildlife:  under COVID restrictions Ely's 2021 Boat Race course is a resolutely spectator-free zone.  The quarter of a million who usually flock to the banks of the Thames have been encouraged to "stay safe, stay away" and watch on TV.

The part which won't change is the rowing.  Famously a power-endurance sport, rowing is much the same for any race longer than a minute or so:  it involves explosive muscle use thirty-plus times a minute for long periods.  That uses the body's aerobic energy system, so whether the race is 5, 15 or 20 minutes long makes very little difference.  The race plans will be the same as they would have been on the Tideway, stroke rates will as ever depend mostly on the wind direction, the same calls will be made by coxes and the same skill, speed, power, tenacity and luck will be needed by the winning men's and women's crews.  

Unlike the Tideway with its narrow and invisible fastest-stream line, the coxes should be able to focus on technical calls rather than cat-fighting over inches of water. "This is a Henley-type course, you're going to get less of a golden escalator in the middle of the stream of the river", says men's race umpire Sarah Winckless.  "The stream is very light, and it spreads over the river pretty evenly", explains Cambridge men's coach Rob Baker.  "You wouldn't want to be tucked in the bank out of the stream, but there really isn't anything to be gained from pushing [others] around.  We want a clean race, it's got to be about the rowing not the steering here."  

Despite this Winckless suspects she and fellow umpire Judith Packer may still be busy.  "Whilst my cold-headed logical view says we should be seeing a race where the coxes give the other crew ample room, not fight for mythical best water, we could be watching a race where the habit kicks in and they still try to find the centre line."  Standard Boat Race rules are still in force so coxes of quick crews can effectively end the race early by moving in front, as long as they don't risk a foul.  Those on the western "Rail" station will have slightly more shelter in today's predicted westerly tail-crosswind than those on the eastern "Road" side.  

The biggest effect on 2021 has been not the location but the pandemic.  During all three UK-wide lockdowns the student athletes had to train and test themselves individually on land, mostly on unforgiving rowing machines wedged into shared houses or college bathrooms.  The universities were granted special permission to return to water training from 7 March, a group of 12 rowers and 2 coxes from each squad squeezing a winter's worth of water skills and selection into a bare month.

"In four weeks you have to cover the performance as best you can with the different elements", says Oxford men's coach Sean Bowden.  "Just making sure we've got a really simple message about what we want the crew to do."  Most of the coaches gave their athletes' minds and uncalloused hands a week to get used to water rowing again before running curtailed seat-racing trials.  "I'm very glad we did it, there were some conclusive results", says Baker.  

"Did we really want to be trying to teach people to row?" says Bowden.  "So we had in our pocket a combination that would click along together quite easily.'"  Both Bowden and Baker were prescient, the Oxford coach getting some selection done early last autumn, and Baker anticipating further lockdowns so arranging for his new recruits to house-share with experienced Cambridge rowers in bubbles together.  

Fixtures have been impossible to run so form is completely unknown.  "It will make it a much more interesting one for the bookies for sure," says Oxford women's coach Andy Nelder.  Although all four crews have experience and power, his and Bowden's squads have been caught up in a news storm during the last few days which must favour Cambridge.  

Meanwhile Cambridge's crews are also defending champions and have a potential home advantage, though Light Blue women's coach Robert Weber isn't sure how much.  "It's obviously very familiar, and not having to travel is good for preparation and rest.  I don't know if beyond that it gives us any advantage of any sort.  There's not a whole lot to learn about the course."  

"Earlier in the year I was a bit sceptical", says Baker of the new location.  "But as the year's gone on we know this is the safest way to race and it feels like Boat Race right now to me, incredibly so."

Weber points out that seven of his crew, who were selected for the cancelled 2020 race, have effectively been training for two years to reach this point.  "Just getting to the start line will be a big deal".