| Part II24 July 2007 In Mads Rasmussen’s own words: “It has been a very good season for us (with partner Rasmus Quist), so far. We are undefeated through the Rowing Word Cup season and made a new World Best Time - we can't complain at all. The last World Cup (Lucerne) was the toughest one. We felt that our competitors had improved and moved a little closer. Because of the weather conditions here in Denmark our preparation for Lucerne was not so good. It was very windy and we had to do part of our training on the erg. We were joking because of the fact that we have never won in Lucerne before - maybe we have some sort of Lucerne-complex – and if we didn't win this year, we would never, ever dare race in Lucerne again, we said to ourselves. Of course we said it with a twinkle in the eye. But we were a little nervous. More than usual. Luckily we won because I would be so sad if I would have to stay away for good. :) Lucerne was also a hard regatta because it was a regatta in totally flat water (if you ignore all of the annoying wakes caused by the boats warming up). Racing in flat water is always technically easy because it is easy to push hard in flat water. Because we train a lot in windy conditions, we often regard bad water as an advantage for us. But in flat water, everybody can push hard and go fast. The races are also often closer in flat water. So in Lucerne we really had to work hard, no inch was free. We were asked if we had a bad start in Lucerne because we were fifth until the 500m. But no, we had a fine start. I just think that the rest of the field started out very hard. We got to 500m with reserves of energy so we were able to keep the speed. Thomas (Poulsen, our coach) had talked a lot about the fact that we should concentrate on the first 1250m and then look up and take a statement of the situation. Fortunately for us (and Thomas) the situation was better after 1250m. Otherwise we had to go for plan B: PANIC! … and then of course Thomas would be to blame and we would hold him responsible for, our now, twice as strong Lucerne-complex :) Now we have a kind of holiday for a week with easy training and a whole weekend with no training at all. Yes, it sounds almost too good to be true. I will have time to relax with friends and family or come up with a secret escape plan (so Thomas and Rasmus won't know where to find me!) away from Bagsværd Lake where the daily training takes place. We will start training again on Monday with new energy, ready to start the preparation for the World Rowing Championships. We are looking forward to the training camp leading to the World Rowing Championships. We leave for Austria at the beginning of August and will go directly from there to the World Rowing Championships. One time our Hungarian competitors/friends yelled out to us when they discovered that we row on a lake of just 2km: "That means you only row around and around and around. That must be so boring!" - And yes, sometimes it is. That is why it is so cool for us to go to training camps where we can row on big rivers and lakes which give us an opportunity to really train on a long distance.”
Part I 10 July 2007 “It makes no difference coming into this season as the reigning World Champion,” says 25-year-old Mads Rasmussen. And just to show that it has not fazed him or his lightweight doubles partner of six years, Rasmus Quist, Mads and Rasmus set a new World Best Time at the Amsterdam Rowing World Cup – 6.10.02. “Of course we feel the pressure,” admits Mads. “We are expected to win, otherwise we disappoint ourselves and our rowing organisation.” “We like being in first place. When we were younger that was what we always dreamed of. Also being part of the field makes it much more fun as a top rower.” Mads has been rowing with Rasmus since 2001 and he says that they are both very similar as athletes. “We have the same training mentality and that is one of our strongest strengths in our partnership. We like to push hard. In the low pace workouts we prefer to keep a high intensity rather than do many kilometres on the water.” The duo also have their differences: “Rasmus always wants to go on the water no matter the weather, whereas I prefer to challenge myself on the erg.” “We don’t follow the training programme exactly. We adjust it with our moods and the weather.”¨ Outside of rowing Mads and Rasmus follow different pursuits. Rasmus works as a plumber while Mads studies medicine. Although Mads admits all the time spent rowing has meant little progress on the study front. Through the Athens Olympics Mads and Rasmus had Carsten Hassing as coach but in the last couple of years their coach has changed to Thomas Poulsen. Former rower, Poulsen holds the World Best Time in the lightweight men’s four and now works as a coach for the Danish team. Since joining with Mads and Rasmus, their winning ways have become a lot more regular. “One definite thing that Thomas has changed about our rowing is our style, the length of the stroke. We try to work on a longer stroke and a lower pace when we do the 2km race. At the moment we are working on the way the boat moves through the water.” |
