Mahe Drysdale's return to international competition may be brief, if his margin behind current single sculler Robbie Manson is anything to go by.
Just two weeks out from his first World Cup in more than two years, the two-time Olympic champion remains about 8-12 seconds behind Manson - the man he needs to beat if he wants to compete at the world rowing championships in September.
"I don’t want to give anyone else a chance at my seat," says Drysdale, a five-time world champion. "I still class it as my seat, it's been my seat since 2005."
But Manson, who claimed the world record off Drysdale in Poznan last year, believes the seat is now his.
"I feel like every day I'm just getting better and better," he says. "I'm very confident I'll be in the single at world champs."
Manson's confidence stems from the fact he's tracking much faster than Drysdale just a month out from 'D-Day', when the pair go head to head at the third World Cup in Lucerne.
That race will decide who attends the world championships.
"Time's starting to run out and the pressure [is starting] to come on," Drysdale admits. "I'm under no illusion - it's not gonna be easy."
While the margin between the duo remains wide, Drysdale's coach, Calvin Ferguson, isn't concerned.
"We’d like it to be less, but it's not really a shock to us, it's not a panic for us at all," says Ferguson.
But Drysdale hasn't convinced former Olympic champion Eric Murray, who believes the seat is Manson's come the world champs.
"The young buck is definitely getting it over the old bull, I'd say," Murray says. "I guess you've got two people - one's on the up and one's maybe on the down, and that's what you’ve got to look at."
While Drysdale's described his comeback as inconsistent and frustrating, he holds a different view.
"I'm very, very confident that within two years, I'm going to be very well back to my best," Drysdale said.
His eye is fixed on the long term goal - the 2020 Tokyo Olympics - where he believes he can be at his gold-medal best.
"The short term is a little more of the unknown and, yes, there is a little bit of apprehension there," Drysdale says.
Newshub.
