 Andrew Lindsay was confident that the Oxford crew would be more motivated than their opponents : " our advantage over Cambridge is that we are hungry for the victory . Everyone in the Oxford boat is driven to go and win this damn thing " . He was making his third and final appearance in the race having lost in both the 1997 and 1998 race . His grandfather represented Cambridge in the 1930s , and his uncle , Alexander Lindsay , rowed for the losing Oxford crew in the 1959 race before <unk> the following year . Cambridge boat club president and Canadian international rower Brad Crombie was also making his third Boat Race appearance , attempting to complete a hat @-@ trick of victories . Sean Bowden was the head coach of Oxford . His Cambridge counterpart , Robin Williams , suggested " it still feels like all or nothing to us . The fear of defeat , the aim of trying to push the limits is motivation itself " . Just as he had done in the 1993 race , umpire Mark Evans introduced modifications to the starting procedure , suggesting that he would be content to hold the crews for up to ten seconds between issuing the " set " and " go " commands . Cambridge 's Williams remarked : " I 'm happy as long as both crews abide by it " , Bowden was <unk> " Go is when you start races . I 'm happy . " 
