The steps
Out of a total of 11 legs around the globe, the 7 crews of the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/2018 have already completed 8 legs. They now have 3 more legs to go:
- Step 9 : Newport - Cardiff: a crossing between the United States and the United Kingdom of 3,300 miles and a duration of about 8 days.
- Step 10 : Cardiff - Gothenburg (Sweden) by 1,250 miles
- Step 11 : Gothenburg - The Hague (Netherlands) by 550 miles
The race should end at the end of June 2018, so there is still 1 month ½ to know the winner of this 13 e edition.
The ranking
While Dongfeng Race Team took the lead on the 7 e stage of the race, ahead of MAPFRE by 1 point. But this 8 e stage - crucial for the Spanish team - has once again turned the overall classification upside down.
When they were in the fifth grade e positioned one week before the race finish in Newport (electronics problem), 80 miles behind, the Spaniards are back at the head of the fleet thanks to the very light airs (barely 1 knot!) at the end of the night on the east coast of the United States. And so it was that after an intense 4-hour finish (to cover 5 miles!), MAPFRE crossed the finish line as the winner, just a minute and a second ahead of Team Brunel.
Dongfeng Race Team, which was hoping to consolidate its slight lead, is the big loser of this stage. While they were leading the fleet with the Dutch crew of Team Brunel, the Franco-Chinese crew finished at the 4 e place in the standings, allowing MAPFRE to regain the lead in the overall standings, with 3 points more than its runner-up.
- MAPFRE 53 points
- Dongfeng Race Team 50 points
- Team Brunel 42 points
- Team AkzoNobel 36 points
- 11th Hour Racing Jacket 28 points
- Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag 27 points
- Turn the Tide on Plastic 22 points
Everything can still change
With only 3 points separating them, everything can still change in the Volvo Ocean Race overall. In the last edition - 2014/2015 - the two teams in the red boat had already challenged each other throughout the race. Dongfeng Race Team finally taking the 3 e place on the podium against the Spaniards of MAPFRE who finished at the 4 e place, only one point behind the 3 e of the race.
Thus, we will have to rely on the last stages of the race to know who will be the winner of this 13 e edition. With a 9 e double stage between Newport and Cardiff, everything can still change... Team Brunel, which is in third place, is in the top three.. e place in the general classification could also play a masterstroke and win this double stage, thus becoming master of the game if MAPFRE finished in last place... Not forgetting the bonus point awarded to the stage winner
So we'll have to wait a little longer to make predictions, because at this stage of the competition, anything is still possible..
