World Rowing Cup I: Instagram Takeover with Julius Hirtzberger, Plus Further Updates

Julius Hirtzberger will be running our Instragram account this weekend at #WRCVarese

The first World Rowing Cup of the 2016 season kicks off today (Friday) in Varese, Italy, and thanks to Julius Hirzberger, you've got a behind-the-scenes look at the regatta this weekend.

A talented photographer, Hirtzberger also rowed at a high level, and is traveling with the Austrian national team while they train for the Olympic Games this summer. You can reach out to him with questions via comments on Instagram—here's his post from early this morning, before the racing kicks off in Italy.



The first World Rowing Cup of the Olympic year will certainly offer some insights into who will wind up backing into the starting blocks in Rio, as well as set the tone for the international rowing year—and suffice it to say, we're excited.

You can read World Rowing's preview of the racing here—while the Kiwis aren't yet in the mix, a number of 2012 Olympic champions are on hand, including Mirka Knapkova in the women's single, and Mads Rasmussen and Rasmus Quist in the lightweight men's double (looking to kickstart a season that will see them competing for a place in Rio at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta). Also of interest for those of us stateside will be the new-look USA men's four, which features 5:40 man Matt Miller—you can read his 2011 RR interview here, when he was still an undergraduate at Virginia (going 5:54 for the Hoos).

A huge thanks to Julius Hirtzberger for bringing us along for the ride in Varese! You can follow him on Instagram here.

Further updates:

Things have been very busy behind the scenes here at RR, and the fruits of that labor are beginning to show. First things first, check out the piece on Row New York by our editor, Bryan Kitch, for SportUp's journal, // Between The Lines—it also features beautiful photography by Row New York masters coach Claudia Loeber.


Also on the radar is an upcoming piece for ROWING Magazine featuring an interview with FISA Executive Director Matt Smith, on the implications of the changes coming to the Olympic rowing program based on Agenda 2020—don't miss the next issue of the mag!

Keep an eye on our Instagram account for updates throughout the weekend, and much more to come from the college rowing season in the U.S., as the competition heats up, with championship racing now on the horizon!

-RR

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