In a heart-stopping finish, the Spanish boat preceded Puma and the two Ericssons

Telefónica Azul wins the third stage of the Volvo Ocean Race in a 4-boat photo finish

The Spanish boat received its particular Christmas gift after prevailing in a very tight finish against Puma, Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4, placing these 4 boats in the leading positions to compete for the leadership of ...

December 23 2008 (06:22 WET)
Telefónica Azul wins leg three of the Volvo Ocean Race in a 4-boat photo finish
Telefónica Azul wins leg three of the Volvo Ocean Race in a 4-boat photo finish

The Spanish boat received its particular Christmas gift after prevailing in a very tight finish against Puma, Ericsson 3 and Ericsson 4, placing these 4 boats in the leading positions to compete for the leadership of the overall standings in the upcoming stages.

Photo: Gabriele Olivo/Telefonica Blue/Volvo Ocean Race

Nobody could have imagined a stage finish in the Volvo Ocean Race as heart-stopping as this one. More than 48 hours of Match Race, with multiple changes of position among the top four finishers, wind holes everywhere, trees floating in the water, hundreds of merchant ships to dodge, and a current that at times has required the use of anchors to avoid going backwards.

The Strait of Malacca has been very similar to that stage finish in Wellington during the Volvo Ocean Race of 2005-06, in which the Spanish boat won by only 9 seconds.

The Spanish boat crossed the finish line, in front of Sentosa Island, at 14:51:22 hours GMT ¬(15:51:22 in Spain), while the American Puma of Ken Read took second place at 15:08:01 GMT and the Ericsson 3 of Anders Lewander crossed it at 15:09:48 GMT. The last member of the quartet that fought until the end, the Ericsson 4 of Torben Grael, finished the race at 15:10:28 GMT.

Behind the Swedish boat, and in this order, came the Telefónica Negro, Green Dragon and Team Russia. The Delta Lloyd, which has suffered a major breakdown during this stage, is still a few hours away from reaching the port of Singapore.

The difference between the first and second classified has been only 16 minutes in this stage finish from Cochin to Singapore, one of the tightest in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race, with four boats with possibilities until the same line, although the glory of the podium has fallen on the Telefónica Azul of Bekking and Martínez, with Simon Fisher as navigator. The second and third have crossed the line in a span of just under two minutes.

Bouwe Bekking commented just after crossing the finish line: "It has been incredible for all of us, although the end of the stage has been very hard, with the rest of the fleet on our heels. We have won in the last miles. Until that moment, nothing was written".

For his part, Iker Martínez was overjoyed: "We are very happy, and now what I have is a very strange feeling, because we are exhausted, the night has become very complicated and we have worked very hard. From the gate it has been incredible; we were seeing each other constantly and in the end, the 2,000 miles of regatta have been decided today in the afternoon".

The last 12 hours of the stage have seen continuous changes in the lead, which at times has passed from the hands of Ericsson 3 to Ericsson 4, to Puma and of course to Telefonica Azul, which scores the 8 points that correspond to it as the winner of this complicated stage and which add to the 3.5 points harvested in Pulau We (which correspond to it as the second classified in the flying goal). This victory, together with the fourth place of Ericsson 4, allows the Spanish boat to cut three important points to the leader of the provisional general classification, which is now only 4.5 points ahead of Telefonica Azul.

The next milestone will consist of a race in the port of Singapore to be held on January 10, which will precede several days of activities parallel to the race.

The next stage, which will begin on January 18, will link Singapore and Qindao (China) with a distance of 2,500 nautical miles.

PROVISIONAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION:

1 Ericsson 4 35.0

2 Telefónica Azul 30.5

3 PUMA Ocean Racing 27.5

4 Ericsson 3 23.5

5 Green Dragon 20.5

6 Telefónica Negro 19.5

7 Team Russia 10.5

8 Delta Lloyd 8.0 (not finished)

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