Hunter(l) and Purchase won Olympic Gold in Beijing 2008

Olympic gold medallist Zac Purchase says New Zealand's Storm Uru and Peter Taylor will be the pair to beat at the World Championships next month.

The Tewkesbury sculler will be partnered by Mark Hunter again, having had a mixed World Cup series together.

"Throughout last year when neither Mark or I were racing the Kiwi double were the strongest crew there," Purchase told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

"So they are going to be seen as the hardest crew out there to beat."

Purchase continued: "Other than that we also have the German double who have just won the European Championships.

"There are going to be lots of good crews out there. We've just got to do our best and come home with the best medal we can."

Although Purchase is keen to do well at the event on New Zealand's North Island he has his sights set on the bigger target.

"The World Championships are not only the big event of the year but also a great indicator of how we're going," he added.

"But at the end of the day the next two years are all about winning in London [2012]."

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