Pinsent (left) and Cracknell were well beaten

The former world champions, with 12 world titles between them, never made their mark on the competition.

Pinsent admitted the level of expectations may have hindered his performance.

"The winning streak is over but in some ways I'm relieved," he said. "I'm not bothered that it's gone because the pressure builds up over time.

"I'm hugely proud of my winning run but I never set out to be the answer to a trivia quiz.

"In two or three weeks we start with a fresh piece of paper, we look at every angle. Maybe that's something we haven't done for a long time."

Australia's Drew Ginn and James Tompkins made all the running down the 2000-metre course on the Idroscalo Lake in Milan, Italy.

Silver medallists Croatia and bronze medallists South Africa stayed in touch with the Australians but Pinsent and Cracknell were never on the pace.

However, there was better news for Britain in the women's coxless pairs as Cath Bishop and Katherine Grainger claimed a surprise victory.

They raced home in seven minutes 04.88 seconds, with Belarus second and Romania third.