Reed and Triggs-Hodge the new standard bearers of GB rowing

By George Scott

IT goes without saying that becoming an Olympic champion is among the greatest sporting achievements - but returning to triumph again four years later is an altogether more difficult task.

DOUBLING UP: Peter Reed and Andy Triggs-Hodge have been earmarked as the standard bearers of British Rowing (Getty Images)

After years of training and sacrifices, the elation of a gold medal is followed by a raft of commitments that can threaten to take an athlete's eye off the ball.

But this weekend, Beijing will be a distant memory for rowers Andy Triggs-Hodge and Pete Reed - gold medallists in the coxless four in Beijing - as they return to the water in the season-opening World Cup regatta in Barcelona.

With Triggs-Hodge and Reed GB's flagship boat, it's the first time since 2003 Jürgen Gröbler - the most successful and longest-serving rowing coach of modern times - has prioritised the pair as he bids to lead a British crew to a gold medal in a sixth successive Games.

For all the crews that have passed beneath him, the German is the dominant factor and Triggs-Hodge and Reed are now his star men.

The coxless four may be synonymous with British success in recent years but Steve Redgrave won three Olympic golds - two with Matthew Pinsent - and five world titles in the pair from 1987 to 1996.

From the outside, this year may look like one for rebuilding for Gröbler, regrouping his athletes while the likes of Tom James and Steve Williams - also members of the coxless four in Beijing - take an extended leave of absence before deciding on their futures.

But the head coach will not have taken his eye off the distant prize of 2012 glory and he has signalled his intention by putting the two powerhouses of British rowing in the pair.

There may be little to take from the results in Banyoles - none of the Beijing pair finalists will the present - but Triggs-Hodge and Reed will be determined to get off to a winning start.

The duo had a remarkable run of 27 consecutive wins between 2005 and 2007 in the four with Williams and Alex Partridge and they know the importance of building momentum.

Of course, as Partridge will testify - having missed out in Athens through injury before being replaced by James in the four ahead of Beijing - combinations are not set in stone.

Barring injury, however, Triggs-Hodge and Reed are likely to be the dominant force in British rowing for the next three years.

They have an excellent pedigree as a partnership, having won four successive national trials from 2005 to 2008, and are undoubtedly the top athletes in the GB set-up in terms of physiology.

The pair is a boat that requires absolute symmetry between both parties and Gröbler is putting his faith in Triggs-Hodge and Reed to find that technical cohesion on a grander scale.

After all, Australia's triple Olympic gold medallist Drew Ginn is likely to be lying in wait at August's World Championships in Poznan.

Ginn has a history of throwing a spanner into Gröbler's works. He teamed up with James Tomkins at the 2003 World Championships in Milan and defeated Pinsent and James Cracknell - forcing them back into the coxless four ahead of Athens 2004.

For now, the British pair have the chance to blow away any post-Beijing cobwebs and compete on an international stage.

As ever, Grobler will be watching carefully - like many great coaches he conducts his business tactfully and lets his athletes do the talking.

There is no doubt, however, that these are the first tentative steps in his relentless pursuit of Olympic perfection.