13 April: Leander's Pete Reed once again dominated the men's pairs final in Hazewinkel, partnered by Alex Gregory, while Olympic finallists Lou Reeve and Olivia Whitlam won the women's event.

More than half the Leander athletes in Belgium qualified for the A finals, with stunning performances from Beijing bronze medallist Matt Wells, who pressed Alan Campbell hard in the men's singles, but had to settle for second place. Leander's Ian Lawson, the GB Olympic single sculler in Athens, won the three-way tie for third place ahead of Andy Triggs-Hodge and Steve Rowbotham.

Peter Reed and Alex Gregory were always going to be challenged by Reed's clubmates Alex Partridge and Rick Egington, Olympic silver medallists in the men's eight. After just 250m the two boats led the field and by the half-way mark Reed and Gregory had moved out to a half-length lead. Partridge and Egington were second, ahead of a strong performance from the third Leander crew in the final - Tom Wilkinson and Tommy Burton.

"I think we won the race in the third 500m", said Reed afterwards. "We kept the rate slightly higher and moved ahead. Then we didn't put in any fireworks in the final 500m, there was nothing special, we just kept going".

The women's pairs was dominated from the mid-way point by Olivia Whitlam and Louisa Reeve, the crew who qualified late for the Olympics, but who have grown into a potent force together. They took the lead from Jess Eddie and Alice Freeman at the 750m mark and then gradually edged away. Leander's Jo Cook and Vicky Myers, the early race leaders, battled with the Nottingham pairing of Monica Relph and Jacqui Round with the latter pair taking third place.

"Last year my pairs partner withdrew just before the trials so I started on the back foot", said Reeve afterwards. "This year has been very different, it's been nice to know what to expect but we've also been under pressure as we were the pair everyone wanted to beat".

In the women's singles final Katherine Grainger won the eighth GB Rowing trial of her career. Already leading after 250m she proved unstoppable at halfway, with only Leander's Anna Bebington putting in a strong 350m near the end which narrowed the long gap to seven seconds.

LEANDER ATHLETES IN BELGIUM

Non-Leander athletes in italics

Finish results incl. top 12 places only

PREVIEW: The start of the next four-year Olympic cycle reaches another significant step this weekend when almost 40 Leander athletes take part in the final leg of GB Rowing Senior Trials in Hazewinkel, Belgium.

Leander’s Peter Reed, who has completed a hat trick of victories in this event partnered by Molesey’s Andy Triggs-Hodge, will this year compete in the men's pairs partnered by Alex Gregory of Reading University, while Hodge has elected to contest the single sculls. Reed and his new partner will face stiff competition from Alex Partridge and Rick Egington, both members of the silver medal GB men's eight in Beijing.

Reed and Hodge won the men's four Olympic crown in Beijing alongside Tom James and Leander captain Steve Williams, who are both taking prolonged breaks from the sport, with Williams still undecided on his future in rowing.

The trials could also prove an interesting test bed for the lightweight men's squad which produced its first Olympic medal in 2008 through Leander's Mark Hunter and Marlow's Zac Purchase, who won gold in the men's double scull. Hunter is also taking a break, leaving potentially an opening for someone to join Purchase, absent from the trials this weekend, in the double.

One of the contenders is Paul Mattick, now rowing with Leander, who was an Olympic finalist and 2007 world champion in the lightweight men's four.

"It's quite a different scene this year", said Mattick, whose main rivals look set to be Richard Chambers and Rob Williams.

Katherine Grainger, winner of a third Olympic silver medal in Beijing, must be one of the favourites to win the women's single scull event. It would be her eighth title since 1998 should she succeed. Grainger will face stiff opposition from a strong women's squad including Leander's Anna Bebington and Marlow's Annie Vernon as well as Sarah Winckless, a former world champion and 2004 Olympic medallist.

The equivalent men's single scull event not only features Tideway Scullers' Alan Campbell but also Olympic bronze medallists Matt Wells and Stephen Rowbotham of Leander as well as emerging talent Marcus Bateman. Olympic men's eight silver medallist, Matt Langridge, another Leander athlete, has also decided to race in a single.

The lightweight women's squad is headed by Olympian Hester Goodsell but includes strong contenders such as Leander's Jane Hall as well as Andrea Dennis, Sophie Hosking, and Laura Greenhalgh.

The World Championships in Poland will be the ultimate goal this year from August 23 - 30 but there will also be significant milestones in the World Cup regattas (29-31 May, 19-21 June and 10-12 July).

ENDS