The 2004 crew may have been Harvard's fastest crew ever. National team crews are older and more experienced than college oarsmen, and are far better prepared than when Harvard raced in the 1968 Summer Olympics. Following the 2004 season, the Harvard varsity went to Europe, where it rowed in the World Cup in Lucerne which was a tune-up for most of the national teams competing in the Olympics. In an upset, Harvard made the finals at Lucerne by defeating the British and French Olympic squads. Harvard lost to the five national teams in the finals at Lucerne, which included four of the top six finishers at the Olympic games—but they were competitive for the length of the course. Harvard then competed in the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley, losing in the finals to the Dutch Olympic 8+, which was also an Olympic finalist.