Hexham's Matt Wells lost his World Cup title to Estonia three weeks after winning it. Wells and Stephen Rowbotham won a tight victory in the season's first World Cup event in Austria and were expecting another hard-fought double sculls in Holland yesterday. But Slovenia and France were thought to be their main rivals in Amsterdam. The British were fourth at 500m, Slovenia's Iztok Cop and Luka Spik setting the early pace. Wells and Rowbotham overtook Australia to go second at 1,500m but just as the race looked set for a three-boat sprint, Estonia came up on the inside to pip Britain into second at the line. "We didn't expect that," said Rowbotham, whose uncle David died last week. "But it was the first time we beat the Slovenians in a World Cup race so it's a step on." Durham's Jess Eddie was a disappointing fifth in the women's eight, having claimed silver in Austria. The first five crews were bunched at the 500m mark but Britain never got closer than fourth to eventual winners Holland. The highlight for the British was two crews claiming medals in the men's eight. It was the first time Britain had two eights in a world cup final and they won gold and bronze. The winning crew was controversially created this month when James Orme and Marcus Bateman were added to the world champion men's four and the men's pair. Britain claimed three other silvers in Olympic boat classes, a gold in the lightweight men's pair and gold in the first world cup race for the Paralympic class of the mixed adaptive four. The third and final world cup is in Lucerne in mid-July before August's world championships in Munich. Durham Amateur Rowing Club finished in the top two of every event they entered at the National Veteran Championships in Nottingham, Carolyn Edwards and Hazel Stainforth winning the women's veteran D/E double sculls. Stainforth, rowing at younger age category, was second in the women's veteran D single sculls, while Edwards was in the silver-medal veteran C quadruple sculls. Andy Jaggard claimed Durham's other medal, a silver in the veteran E single sculls. There was double medal success for Megan Bell and Tracy Nelson at Loughborough Regatta. The pair were second in the women's senior 3 double sculls and had podium finishes in the single sculls. Bell won the senior 2 category, Nelson came second in the senior 3. | 
