More than 1,100 athletes from 60 countries will be contesting 27 boat categories, and the pre-eminent nations of New Zealand, Great Britain and Germany are all eager to underline their reputations when the medals start to be won over the last four days of the week-long Championships, starting with the para-rowing classes.

Britain will seek to better last season's World Championship total of eight in Chungju, South Korea, of which three were gold through the women's pair of Helen Glover and Polly Swann, the men's eight, and the Legs, Trunk and Arms mixed coxed four.

Andy Triggs Hodge, a member of the victorious eight who is now in the four, the British men's new top boat, is married to a Dutchwoman and is excited about racing in Amsterdam.

"Holland is a great rowing nation with a huge following," said Triggs Hodge."

"Knowing the Dutch a little, I think this will be a Worlds to remember."

The British men's eight, with double Olympic champion Andy Triggs Hodge aboard, wins a first world title in Korea last year ©Getty Images

The event draw is available on www.worldrowing.com and tomorrow's Opening Ceremony will take place on the green outside the world-famous Rijksmuseum, with racing starting at 1pm Central European Time.

Britain's Olympic champions Glover and Heather Stanning are reunited for a first tilt at a world title in the women's pair - Swann is now in the eight - while Stanning, an Army captain, is back from a year on duty in Afghanistan.

They are the target for New Zealand's Louise Trappitt and Rebecca Scown, and the US pairing of Megan Kalmoe and Kerry Simmonds.

Stanning's fellow British Olympic champion Katherine Copeland is also back in the action after taking a year out, and her presence alongside Imogen Walsh makes them favourites in the lightweight women's double sculls, although Italy's defending champions Laura Milani and Elisabetta Sancassani, to whom they delivered a first defeat in two years at the concluding World Cup in Lucerne, may beg to differ.

The six-year dominance of New Zealanders Eric Murray and Hamish Bond in the men's pair may be put under pressure by their decision to race too for the first time in the coxed pairs. But it may not.
The Dutch pair of Rogier Blink and Mitchel Steenman and Britain's James Foad and Matt Langridge stand ready to profit if there is a sign of weakness.

New Zealand's all-conquering pair, Eric Murray (left) and Hamish Bond celebrate another world title last year. But have they overstretched themselves in Amsterdam by choosing to do the coxed pair as well? ©Getty Images

Defending champions Kristoffer Brun and Are Strandli of Norway are the crew to beat in the lightweight men's double sculls - and France's Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre, fourth in the Olympics and going well, could be the ones to do it.

The British men's crew being prioritised by head coach Jurgen Grobler is unbeaten this year.

London 2012 gold medallists Andy Triggs Hodge and Alex Gregory, now teamed with Moe Sbihi and George Nash, are European champions but this will be their first global championship test and Australia and The Netherlands will be strong challengers.

Two of the victorious Croatia quadruple sculls crew from last year, brothers Martin and Valent Sinkovic, now appear the team to beat in the double sculls, but this category is wide open, and Norway's defending champions Kjetil Borch and Nils Jakob Hoff could yet prevail again.

Martin Simkovic (left) and brother Valents (right) celebrate last year's world gold for Croatia in the quadruple sculls. What can the brothers do this year in the double sculls against Norway's defending pair? ©Getty Images