Kiwi rower Mahe Drysdale says there's one aspect of racing in a quad boat that he's still getting used to – having other people on board.
The double Olympic champion made the change, after losing out on his preferred spot in the single sculls to Robbie Manson for the world championships in Bulgaria next month.
Just hours before the team's departure to Europe, the 39-year-old admitted it'd been a challenging experience so far, but one he'd wholeheartedly embraced.
"It's been mentally pretty taxing," Drysdale told Newshub, at Auckland International Airport.
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"You've got to really focus and concentrate on trying to do it together, rather than just by yourself. That’s probably been the biggest change."
Drysdale said his new teammates had been a huge help in making the transition as seamless as possible and he was eager to finally measure his new skills on the international stage.
"They've been really accepting and we've come to some compromises.
"The boat feels great to me… I just have no experience as to what it should be like and how fast we should be going. I'm looking forward to getting out there and testing it against the other countries."
Whether he remains in the quad boat long term will depend on their results in Plovdiv next month.
"It depends on how we go at world champs. I very much wanted to add something to this boat, so we'll have a look at the results there and then make some decisions after that."
On Monday night, a 48-strong New Zealand contingent left for the competition in Bulgaria, where racing is scheduled to start on September 9.
Newshub.
