Hebden’s Andy Hodge starts the long hard road to next summer’s London Olympics this weekend.

He is involved in the Great Britain Rowing Team’s Winter Assessment on a 5km course at Boston in Lincoln- shire on Saturday.

The event will pit the Great Britain squad members against each other and the clock.

It is a key part of the assessment ahead of the selection of the Olympic team which will be made in early June.

Hodge, who won a gold medal in the men’s fours at the Beijing Olympic, Pete Reed and Tom James are among the leading open-weight rowers who will compete in pairs at Boston.

Hodge is recognised as one of Britain’s most talented rowers and there is still speculation as to which event he will be targetted for at the Olympics.

Since Beijing he has competed in the pairs along with Reed, but despite some brave efforts and great tussles, they have been unable to break the domination of the great New Zealand combination of Hamish Bond and Eric Reid.

There has been repeated speculation that he might revert to the men’s fours for the Olympics.

Performance Director David Tanner said: “Boston always provides a challenging test for the rowers.

“All the greats of our sport like Sir Matt Pinsent, Sir Steve Redgrave and James Cracknell have been through the process, just like today's crop of talented rowers.

“They all know how valuable it is not only to gauge winter training but to provide a route into the squad for any serious challenger.”

After Boston, the next milestone will be the GB Rowing Team Senior Trials on the Olympic course at Eton-Dorney on March 10-11.