Xchanging Boat Race: Oxford v Cambridge
Venue: River Thames, London Date: 3 April 2010, 1630 BST
Coverage: Watch live on BBC One and the BBC Sport website (all users) listen on BBC 5 live sports extra

By Martin Gough

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss raced in the Olympic pairs final

The American twins who sued the founder of Facebook have been confirmed in the Oxford crew for this year's Boat Race.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss will join Oxford's attempt to win the race, on 3 April, for the third successive time.

Cambridge, who weighed in at an average of 95.05kg - just 0.5kg per man heavier - welcome back Deaglan McEachern and Henry Pelly from last year's crew.

Dutch Olympian and crew president Sjoerd Hamburger is the only returning member of the Oxford line-up.

The Winklevoss twins reached a confidential settlement agreement in February 2008 with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, also a former Harvard University student, having claimed he stole ideas from their site.

Zuckerberg worked as a developer for the twins when they set up a site named HarvardConnection, which later became ConnectU.

The duo, 28, went on to reach the Olympic pairs final in Beijing in 2008.

Tyler Winklevoss said of the Facebook row: "It's one part of who we are and it's also minor to the task at hand.

"At the end of the day we're students trying to row for the Blue Boat.

"Cambridge is going to be a very good opponent so we have to prepare to be at our best."

If we're as fast as some of the stuff from last year I'll be absolutely delighted Oxford coach Sean Bowden

The last twins to compete were Mark and Mike Evans, who rowed in the winning Oxford crews of 1983 and 1984. Hugh and Robert Clay also won with Oxford in 1982.

Mark Evans' son Matt makes his Boat Race debut in the six seat this year.

Oxford coach Sean Bowden believes his crew are around the same speed as last year's, which was the heaviest ever, contained several Olympians and won by three-and-a-half lengths.

"Some of the stuff last year's boat did was extraordinary," he added. "If we're as fast as some of the stuff from last year I'll be absolutely delighted."

The surprise inclusion in the crew is Ben Myers, 20, who learned to row at the same school in Kingston as double Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell.

"He got an opportunity in the boat for a week because somebody was off sick then he did some great stuff in the out-of-boat testing," said Bowden.

"It's great. He's done really well."

Three of the Cambridge crew are on the fringes of the Great Britain squad, including Henry Pelly, who suffered his second Boat Race defeat last year.

"I probably wouldn't be here if I'd won as president last year," Pelly told BBC Sport.

"Last year I didn't feel as though I'd done everything the way I wanted to so I wanted to come back and make sure.

"The season has built in a really good way, it's got better and better and things have fallen into place."

The other two Brits are Fred Gill and George Nash, who both rowed in the Cambridge reserve crew, Goldie, last year.

Before the annual weigh-in, as a promotional stunt, the two crews carried a 20m-long racing eight over London Bridge in the middle of the morning rush hour.

Oxford: Ben Myers (GB), Martin Walsh (Ire), Tyler Winklevoss (USA), Cameron Winklevoss (USA), Sjoerd Hamburger (Ned), Matt Evans (Can/GB), Simon Gawlick (Ger), Charlie Burkitt (GB), Adam Barhamand (cox; USA)

Cambridge: Rob Weitemeyer (Can), Fred Gill (GB), Code Sternal (USA), Peter McCelland (Can), George Nash (GB), Deaglan McEachern (USA), Derek Rasmussen (USA), Henry Pelly (GB), Ted Randolph (GB)

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