Australia's world champion Kim Brennan faces the greatest threat to her long golden reign when she lines up for the final Olympic rowing warm-up regatta this week in Poland.
The team's best gold medal hope in Rio, Brennan hasn't lost a single scull race since 2014 when she was beaten by Kiwi Emma Twigg.
However, the pair haven't raced since that world championships, with Twigg opting to defer elite rowing while she studied overseas.
The New Zealander returned to book her Olympic berth through the "Regatta of Death" last month in Lucerne.
She skipped the World Cup that immediately followed it, meaning the Poznan event will be the only time they meet ahead of Rio.
Australian rowing team leader Jaime Fernandez said there could be some smoke and mirrors as the pair duel on the water.
"It's going to be an intriguing battle to see where they're at in terms of their preparation," Fernandez said.
"I don't think all cards will be on the table necessarily because the main race is in a couple of months."
Despite her lack of high level competition, Fernandez predicted 29-year-old Twigg, who finished fourth at the London Olympics to Brennan's bronze, would perform well.
"Emma's an experienced athlete and she managed her qualification regatta really well and showed her class," Fernandez said.
The Poznan field could provide a snapshot of the Rio final, with reigning Olympic champion Czech Mirka Knapkova and 1996 and 2000 Olympic champion, 44-year-old Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus also lining up.
As well as Brennan, Australia has a number of other crews looking to assert their authority before Rio.
The men's quad sculls won in Lucerne ahead of Great Britain, while the result was reversed in the men's four.
Alex Hill missed that race through illness, with Josh Dunkley-Smith catching his oar in the surge to the finish line, allowing reigning Olympic champions Great Britain to snatch gold.
New women's double scull duo Sally Kehoe and Genevieve Horton also claimed a silver medal in Switzerland, with their chance to go one better boosted with victors Lithuania not competing.
Australia's two world championship para-rowing crews, single sculler Erik Horrie, and mixed double entries Kathryn Ross and Gavin Bellis, will compete internationally for the first time this year.
The World Cup starts on Friday.
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