Canada's men's eight rower Gabriel Bergen carries oars following a training session ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Eton Dorney on Friday.DARREN WHITESIDE/Reuters
The men's heavyweight eights has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Canadian rowers, and Saturday sees the 2012 crew take to the water.
The Canadians should once again contend for a medal - to win gold they'll have to beat a German boat that has been all-conquering for nearly two years - but no one really knows how strong they'll be.
That's because the Canucks have pursued a deliberate strategy of playing possum; they only competed in one World Cup event, blazing to a world record in the heats before ultimately losing to the Germans in the final.
Canada's crew has a stiff test right off the hop: they're up against the Germans in their heat, along with a powerful Great Britain crew.
Given only the top boat advances to the final at least two of the pre-competition medal favourites will have to go the more circuitous - and tiring - repechage route.
In addition to Germany and the hosts, Canada's main competition in the event will come from a game American crew that narrowly qualified for the Games.