Nailsworth rower Pete Reed will get his third Olympic season under way at the European Championships this weekend but says he is approaching it like it’s his first.

Reed is one of the most experienced and decorated members of the GB Rowing Team, having won two Olympic gold medals and five World Championship titles during an illustrious international career dating back to 2003.

Three of those World titles have come in the men’s eight during the last three years and he has once again been selected in that boat for the Europeans, taking place in Brandenburg, Germany from May 6-8.

It is the first international test of a season that will end at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Reed, a former Cirencester Deer Park School pupil, cannot wait to get started.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “The crew is immense, just really strong guys. I look down the boat from cox all the way to bow and there is no weakness there.

“We’ve trained for four years as a heavyweight men’s squad and I’ve been impressed by all of the rowers, every single step of the way. I wanted to make sure I was reaching that kind of standard.

“We have a lot to do before the Olympics but it could be my third Games. I came into the sport very late, so even going to the World Championships was a dream. I can’t believe how long I have been in this sport – I’ve had successes, I’ve had failures but I am really looking forward to this season.

“I am treating it like my first Olympic season, as if I’ve been preparing 12 years for this one regatta. It’s going to be wonderful.”

Joining Reed in the eight is Chipping Campden’s Matt Gotrel, a former international sailor who switched to rowing after successfully trialing for the GB Rowing Team Start talent ID and development programme.

He made his senior debut in the first race of the Rio 2016 Olympiad, winning World Cup gold in the eight at Sydney, and has established himself in the boat during the past two seasons, securing back-to-back World Championship titles.