A Cambridge selection crew was beaten by 2½ lengths on the Tideway course today by a strong Canadian eight that included world champion David Calder and four U23 Gold medalists from 2006.

Boat Race Umpire John Garrett gave the Canadian cox Mark Laidlaw several warnings during the race, which had seen Cambridge take the Middlesex station from the start.

Earlier, the initial race at 13:30 had to be stopped at Hammersmith Pier after a collision between the two boats close to St. Paul’s school resulted in the 2-seat in the Cambridge boat breaking a rigger back stay.

After returning to Putney for repairs, the race was restarted at 14:15.