Italian Patrizio Bertelli's Team Prada will be taking part in the Louis Vuitton Cup for the third time in a row. The races, which precede the America's Cup, will begin in 2007 off the Spanish harbour city of Valencia.
The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup is the official challenger to Switzerland's "Alinghi", which won the 2003 Americas Cup with a clear 5:0 victory against the then defending champions from New Zealand.
In addition to the Cup defenders, the New Zealanders (Team New Zealand), the Americans (Team BMW Oracle Racing), the Italians (Squad +39) and Team Shosholoza from South Africa are expected on the starting line.
"Luna Rossa" helmsman Francesco de Angelis is optimistic: "We have been training off the Spanish coast for three months and were the first to set up a base in Valencia. We are well prepared for the 32nd Americas Cup." De Angelis and his team are racing for the Yacht Club Italiano (YCI), the oldest club in the entire Mediterranean region (founded in 1879), based in Genoa.
