Sailors Rhos Hawes and James Grummett want to ride the wave of World Championship success following their landmark fourth-place finish.

The new British Sailing partnership punched above their weight at the 49er event earlier this month having taken to the water together for the first time in December.

And Cirencester native Hawes admitted that has only made them hungrier for more.

The 27-year-old said: “It definitely clicked straight away. We trained together, sailing with different people before so we were very good friends already and know each other very well.

“It’s been a good couple of weeks reflecting on (Worlds). Looking at that result there is plenty more to come.

"It wasn’t a polished finished product we were bringing into that event, which is nice because I know we’ve got more to give.”

Next up for Hawes and Grummett is the Trofeo Princesa Sofia in Palma, a regatta Hawes sees as the perfect opportunity to recapture the magic that led them to Worlds success.

Last year the partnership raced this event in separate boats with the added pressure of Olympic selection places at stake, but they are now fully focused on honing their craft ahead of the European Championships in May.

Hawes said: “We need to keep that good balance we had ­– to race as if there is no expectation when there now is expectation.

“If you finish in the top ten you get a single digit number of where you finish on the sail so we will have that expectation every time we look up at it, but our goal is not to be influenced by that and still race with freedom.

“The contrast between last year and this year, it is very different, almost weirdly we’ve got just as much expectation on our back.

“There is external pressure from selectors off but the same internal pressure that you put on yourself.”

Hawes and Grummett will not be competing at Paris this summer but they are already looking forward to the next Olympic cycle.

“We teamed up back in December with the knowledge that this was at least a five-year project until LA 2028,” Hawes added.

“There are so many aspects to an Olympic campaign in that there are always things we can do pushing forward.

“Once the pressure is off and the Games is happening, we can focus on the basics and make sure our foundations are strong going into the next four years.”

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