At Cambridge, Egan returned once more to assist the coaching of the 1858 crew and was responsible for a substantial part of the coaching this year. Robert Lewis-Lloyd had been elected President and apart from Robert Wharton, the cox, he was the only Blue available from the previous year. The Oxford President John Thorley was in a better potential position for he had no less than 4 Blues available from 1857 (Robert Risley, John Arkell, William Wood and Edmond Warre, now in his second year). However, in the event it is very doubtful if a crew of old Blues would have helped them win in 1958.

Cambridge won the toss and chose the Middlesex station. The Race had hardly started when one of the steamers had strayed too close to the Oxford boat and whether as the result of the swell that was created or by direct contact with the boat or the blade, a thole pin of the Oxford stroke, Thorley became gossly distorted and he caught a really bad crab. Not only did this result in Thorley being cascaded back into 7, and the boat coming to a complete standstill, but the misshapen thole pin must have made it virtually impossible for Thorley to strike anything like a reasonable stroke for the rest of the race.

However the immediate effect was not to be so disastrous to Oxford as it might have been. Cambridge went slightly into the lead, but almost immediately their port oars struck a barge which lay at anchor straight in their course and by the time this had been sorted out, they were again level with Oxford. It is obviously not only in modern times that barges have had a great attraction for Cambridge crews.

Both crews continued rowing despite these difficulties, though their technique was sorely affected and their progress slow as the progressed up the Crab Tree reach side by side. When they reached the Crab Tree, the wind was not coming from quite so dead ahead, Cambridge put in a spurt and rowing in much more like their normal style of the long powerful strokes, moved rapidly ahead of their rivals. The light blues passed under Hammersmith Bridge about 1½ lengths ahead and continued to row strongly along Chiswick reach gaining on Oxford steadily all the while eventually passing the finish in 21 minutes 23 seconds, some 22 seconds ahead of Oxford.