By Frank Malley, PA Chief Sports Writer, Sydney

Matthew Pinsent has insisted the bitter taste of defeat was the spur which could propel Britain's top rowers to sweet victory in Sydney next week.

The Olympic double gold medallist, who will carry the flag for Britain in tomorrow's Opening Ceremony, revealed the loss suffered in the World Cup event in Lucerne two months ago had given the coxless four a timely but painful reminder that success comes at a price.

Now he believes the team of himself, James Cracknell, Tim Foster and Steve Redgrave, at 38 seeking his fifth successive Olympic gold, are in peak shape to lift sport's ultimate prize.

Their challenge begins with the first heats on Sunday and Pinsent said: "Lucerne was disappointing for us. We finished fourth in an event we should have won.

"But we sat down and all put our two pennyworth into why it went wrong and worked out what we needed to change. We've addressed all of those issues and cranked up the quality level of our training in the last six weeks.

"Winning an Olympic gold medal is never going to be easy. No teams are prepared to roll over and die and say 'you go on and have it'. Given a chance they'll give us a good kicking.

"We just have to make sure we don't give them an opportunity.

"Sure, the other boats will look to us as a strong contender but we've got to be careful we don't concentrate on one opposition whether it's Australia, New Zealand or Italy.

"We've put in the training and the effort and have now got to remain confident to produce our best form."

Pinsent and team-mate Tim Foster said the British team's preparations couldn't have gone more smoothly and rejected recent complaints about the Penrith Lakes venue where some teams have struggled to train in the windy conditions.

The Britons didn't fly into Sydney from the Gold Coast until Tuesday, but already have had several sessions at Penrith.

"All the rumours we have heard about Penrith are just not true," said Foster.

"It's been like a mirror every time we've rowed on it. Now we're just looking forward to racing."