2021 Boat Race: BBC coverage guide as Oxford and Cambridge race on Great Ouse
- Published
Cambridge won the last men's Boat Race held on water in 2019
The Boat Race 2021 |
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Venue: River Great Ouse, Ely Date: 4 April Races: 15:50 & 16:50 BST |
Coverage: Watch live coverage from 15:00 BST on BBC One, iPlayer & the BBC Sport website and app. |
The 2021 Boat Race takes place on Sunday and you can watch it live on BBC One, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
The men's and women's races have been moved from the Thames to the Great Ouse at Ely in Cambridgeshire because of coronavirus restrictions.
The remote Fenland location will help the organisers meet the challenges of staging the event without spectators.
After 2020's virtual races, Cambridge are looking to win their third straight men's and women's races on water.
The teams have only been able to train fully for four weeks after receiving special dispensation to form an elite sport bio-bubble.
Ely, the location of the Cambridge University boathouse, hosted the event in 1944 when an unofficial duel took place during the Second World War.
'Worrying for the rowers & the event'
"The thing which has been the hardest has been worrying for the rowers, worrying for the event," said Oxford men's chief coach Sean Bowden.
"These are young men and women who have put their lives on hold and made a lot of sacrifices along the way.
"They missed out last year, and there was the chance of missing out again.
"I think that certainly is what I found really hard, being at the sharp end of responsibility for trying to get people a good shot at something they have worked really hard for."
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How does the course differ?
The three-mile course is almost a straight run from just north of the Prickwillow Road bridge to the finish at Littleport ahead of the Victoria Street bridge.
"The course is just perfectly straight, with just a very tiny kink in it," said Cambridge men's chief coach Rob Baker.
"It is going to be just a big grind really, getting your boat speed up and running, then just seeing who can maintain it through the course of the race.
"It is going to be a fascinating race to watch, to see how the crews cope with that, without any other interference thrown in, like when you come to a bend on the tideway."
Men's race crews
Oxford: James Forward; Alex Bebb; Martin Barakso; Felix Drinkall; Tobias Schroder; Jean-Philippe Dufour; Joshua Bowesman-Hones; Augustin Wambersie; Jesese Oberst (cox)
Cambridge: Theo Weinberger; Ben Dyer; Seb Benzecry; Quinten Richardson; Garth Holden; Ollie Parish; Callum Sullivan; Drew Taylor; Charlie Marcus (cox)
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)
BBC coverage
Sunday 4 April
15:00-17:30 - BBC One, BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website and mobile app
All times are in BST and are subject to change.
When the Boat Race goes wrong
National and regional variations
National and regional variations have been included in this list where possible, but please check your local listings for more detailed information.