Olympic gold medallist Kieran West believes his Cambridge crew must create their own ‘little bubble’ to win the 2007 Boat Race - sponsored by Xchanging.

"However bad the conditions, the main thing is not to let them into your little bubble," he said. "You have to do the same with the crowd and everything else about the day.

"The crowd can be useful beforehand as a way of geeing you up and at the end it’s one of the best feelings in the world if you’ve won."

West tasted victory with Cambridge in 1999 and 2001, and believes the current crew have learned from their training outings, which included defeat against a strong German crew.

"We’ve made some big steps," he said. "Although we lost, the race with Germany was good. No-one really expected us to win. We certainly didn’t get everything right there, but we did show some good aggression."

West said his PhD in World War One Strategy and Military Intelligence provides the perfect antidote to the pressures of rowing.

"When I’m doing things other than rowing, I feel as though I row better," he said. "It’s a step away from the sport, I suppose it’s something about the ideal of having a strong mind and a strong body."

West won his Olympic gold medal as a member of the GB eight at the Sydney 2000 Games.

The 2007 Boat Race, sponsored by Xchanging, takes place at 4.30pm on Saturday 7th April.