The Ocean Race: it's not over til it's over

The winning IMOCA is expected to finish near midnight GMT in Cabo Verde, with Team Holcim-PRB maintaining speed and control at the front of the fleet. 

But there are still some moves to be made as the leading trio, which includes 11th Hour Racing Team and Team Malizia, gybe towards the finishing line. Each manoeuvre has some jeopardy attached in losing miles to the competition or placing the boat in an unfavourable wind shift. 

“We’re going really fast at the moment, it’s actually quite a nice mode,” said Boris Herrmann from Team Malizia as they try to gain miles on second-placed 11th Hour Racing Team. “We have these long waves that help push us. It’s getting warmer. Looking forward to some smoother sailing and maybe a bit quieter too as it’s been very loud on board with this sea state. But let’s see.”

Behind the leading trio, Biotherm and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, are lined up about 8 to 10 hours behind the leaders, with Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm holding the inside track advantage.

VO65s

It’s a similar story in the VO65 fleet, with WindWhisper Racing Team in a strong position ahead of Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team and Team JAJO, who are likely to be in a dogfight for second place all the way to the finish. The latest projections have the VO65 leaders arriving Cabo Verde on Saturday afternoon.