The quartet of Alex Gregory, Mohamed Sbihi, George Nash and Andrew Triggs Hodge, who won the European title earlier this month, dominated their heat to finish well clear of Canada in 5min 55.24sec.

The boat which is being teed up to maintain Britain's sequence of four consecutive Olympic victories at Rio 2016 will face strong opposition in the shape of Australia and the United States, but a gold medal appears to be theirs for the taking.

The most nailed-on gold medallists, however, look like being the New Zealanders who have dominated the men's pair at world level for the last five years, Hamish Bond and Eric Murray, who qualified fastest for their final.

China's Tiexin Wang, winner of the lightweight men's single sculls at World Cup I in Sydney in March, looks on course to add another maximum points score.

Wang, who has switched to this event since being a member of the lightweight men's four which reached the semi-finals at London 2012, headed his heat from start to finish.

Tiexin Wang, pictured far left ,has emerged as a dominant force in the lightweight men's single sculls and is headed for his second World Cup win of the season ©Bongarts/Getty Images

Britain's Olympic women's pairs champions Helen Glover and Heather Stanning also won their heat in style.

It was a particularly satisfying outing for Stanning, who returned this season after taking a year to follow through her commitments in Afghanistan as an Army Captain, but who was not fit enough to race in the European Championships, at which Glover won with Polly Swann.

Another of Britain's Olympic champions from London, Kat Copeland, won her heat in the lightweight women's double scull with new partner Imogen Walsh.

France will have its own likely winners to follow in the shape of Stany Delayre and Jeremie Azou, European champions in the lightweight men's double sculls, who led their heat from start to finish to record the fastest qualifying time.

There will also be strong home hopes on behalf of Clement Duret and Theophile Onfroy, who won their heat of the lightweight men's pair, and the lightweight men's four, who held off a strong Chinese challenge to win their heat.

Azerbaijan's Aleksandar Aleksandrov and Boris Yotov reached tomorrow's final in the men's double sculls as they chased Croatia home in their heat.

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