Laurence Whiteley looking to ‘prove a point’ at World Cup 2 in Linz

Having missed World Cup 1 with illness, Laurence Whiteley feels he has a point to prove to himself in Linz at World Cup 2 this weekend

Laurence Whiteley feels he has something to prove at World Cup 2 in Linz, having been forced to miss the first round in Belgrade through illness.

The Paralympic champion will race the PR2 single scull this weekend, with double sculls partner Lauren Rowles recovering from offseason surgery.

And after a strong showing at the Gavirate International Para-rowing Regatta in May, where he won gold and silver, Whiteley is keen to show the fruits of a long winter of training.

“I’m hoping for a strong performance,” he said. “Gavirate was a good opportunity to put the winter training into use and set the benchmark.

“Having missed the first World Cup through illness I certainly go into this one thinking I’ve got a bit to prove, but that’s never a bad thing. I’ll have some strong competition here and I’m looking forward to getting out racing.

“It’s never good to miss events so I go in with a point to prove to myself and want to enjoy my racing. One of the benefits of Para-rowing moving to 2km is that there are more opportunities to race, so I now have to take those opportunities.”

Whiteley faces stiff competiton in Linz from Dutchman Corne de Koning, who will double up in the PR2 single and mixed double sculls. De Koning took the win ahead of Whiteley in Gavirate and also took gold in the double at World Cup 1 in Belgrade.

And Whiteley will be the first Brit in action this weekend, beginning his campaign with the exhibition race at 8.20am (BST) on Friday.

You can follow all the action from World Cup 2 in Linz on British Rowing’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram channels.