Olympic rower Alan Sinclair is targeting a full season of competition after an injury-hit 2017.
Sinclair did not have much of a season to speak of last year after overcoming shoulder surgery but returned to form in the British trials on Saturday, winning the men’s pair alongside Mat Tarrant.
Inverness’ Sinclair, who got to the finals of the pair with Stewart Innes at Rio 2016, had spent much of the year rehabbing his shoulder and regaining his strength in the gym. He made his comeback in a GB boat at the world championships in Florida in September, winning the B final in the eight.
He hopes to find out soon which boat he will be racing in this season, as preparations creep towards the next Olympics in Tokyo in two years.
Sinclair said: “It will make a difference getting a full season of training and racing under my belt. The physiological benefit from exposure to maximal output – I had none of that last year.
“As much as I pushed myself on the bike, it’s different to what you can do on the water, side by side with five other boats in a final. I know it’ll put me in a better position to get on the podium.”
Sinclair, a life member at Inverness Rowing Club, concedes there is no guarantee what boat he will be selected for, with head coach Jurgen Grobler likely to try out different combinations before settling on his preferred ones.
The 32-year-old from Munlochy, who went to university in Aberdeen, had done little rowing alongside Tarrant since 2013 but they took victory by a second-and-a-half ahead of Felix Drinkall and Oliver Cook at Caversham last Sunday.
Sinclair added: “Mat was always the guy I was trying to beat. I raced with him in 2013 when I got my first GB vest and we came fifth in the four at the worlds.
“We’re looking for as many medals as possible and I know Jurgen has got intentions to push towards the eight and four, instead of the pair. But whether that changes, I don’t know.
“The focus is always on the Olympics but it’s a step-by-step process. You build on what’s worked before and learn from every World Cup and world championship. We’re making sure we’re in the right place to qualify the boats at next year’s world championships.”
The first World Cup of the season is in Belgrade on June 1, with the second in Linz, Austria, three weeks later. The European championships begin in Glasgow at the start of August with the world championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, on September 9.
