MATTHEW Langridge earned a silver medal in Great Britain’s men’s pair at the World Cup in Switzerland, closing a gap to the reigning Olympic champions.

The Northwich rower and crewmate James Foad, crowned as Europe’s best back in May, marked their return to the international stage by finishing second behind New Zealand in Sunday’s final.

“We’re getting closer to them,” said Langridge afterwards.

“We can do better, and it’s good we know where we need to improve over the next six weeks [before the world championships].”

Following comfortable victories in both their heat and semi final, the British boat was only fourth by halfway in the final.

Kiwi tandem Eric Murray and Hamish Bond pulled away from their rivals in the next 500m, during which Langridge and Foad came up on the shoulders of the Dutch duo to edge into third.

A storming effort in the closing stages, when their stroke-rate reached a peak of 41 per minute, propelled the Henley Regatta victors past Serbia – third at the European Championships – to cross the line little more than a length adrift of the world’s fastest crew.

Langridge added: “We got the wins at Henley and at the Europeans without rowing that well, but we’ve definitely moved on here.

“We’re still in front of everyone else, bar the Kiwis, and have a good base to work from.”

Foad, of Molesey Boat Club, believes there is more to come.

He said: “We arrived here still without a lot of racing under our belts.

“We only had Henley, and that was completely different because the competition is not as strong.

“We were nine seconds behind New Zealand at this time last year, and have to take confidence from that.”

Great Britain’s men’s eight clinched a thrilling gold medal after holding off a challenge from Germany, while Helen Glover and Heather Stanning finished first in the women’s pair following a 27th straight win.

There were bronze gongs too for Alan Campbell, in the men’s single sculls, and for the women’s eight.

New Zealand topped the overall rankings, calculated by a points aggregate from three World Cup regattas, with Germany second and Britain in third position.

“We picked up five strong medals, including two outstanding golds for the women’s pair and the men’s eight,” said Sir David Tanner, GB Rowing Team’s performance director.

“We didn’t get everything right, but we’ll go away to our pre-World Championships camps next week with confidence in what we’ve achieved here.”

The World Championships, in France, start on Sunday, August 30.

The regatta will also double as a qualifier for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio.