Team Sbihi has the last laugh as they beat Team Satch in epic BRIC 2016 relay battle

Moe Sbihi admits his team have bragging rights over Will Satch and co for the next 12 months

Moe Sbihi led his crack team of elite rowers past arch rival Will Satch and other members of the GB national team in a close fought relay to cap off a memorable day of racing at the British Rowing Indoor Championships.

Many of the day’s spectators stayed in seats for the big race, which saw teams of four taking turns on the rowing machine to row 4km, with some hasty changeovers making for exciting racing.

It looked as though outsiders Team Nutrifix would row away with an historic win, leading both GB crews by 50m through the halfway mark, but the elite squads held their nerve until the end and were only separated by a second.

>>> Read our BRIC racing report here

“That’s bragging rights for us four boys,” Sbihi said of his teammates, Matthew Tarrant, Pete Lambert and Alan Sinclair.

“Nutriflix stormed off so quickly, but when they blew we reeled them in. We had a few bad changeovers, but that’s where it’s won or lost. The MAD team beside us were quicker, but had a really bad changeover and that knocked them back.

“In the relay you’ve got to smash it as hard as you can for a short amount of strokes and then perfect the changeover without losing any speed. In training we’ve been awful, but we somehow managed to pull it out of the bag.

Sbihi confirmed that no forfeit had been agreed for Satch’s team of Matt Gotrel, Stewart Innes, John Collins, but said the bragging rights will be with his squad for the next 12 months.