Ocean Race Europe: Stress test instead of farewell gala for Team Malizia

Leg four had started anything but badly for Team Malizia. Although Boris Herrmann's team had not been able to collect any bonus points at the scoring gate off Monaco, they even briefly led the Ocean Race Europe fleet late in the evening after the start. That was on Sunday evening. Now it's just a fond memory.

Ocean Race Europe: Tough losses for Team Malizia

Two nights and one day later, the mix of reaching weaknesses in lighter winds and not entirely fortunate strategic decisions have set Team Malizia back a long way on leg four of the Ocean Race. Four boats have pulled away at the front of the field. On Tuesday morning, Ambrogio Beccaria's Team Allagrande Mapei Racing and the Swiss "Hocim-PRB" were the last to battle it out. without the scheduled skipper Rosalin Kuiper for the leadership.

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At the front of the power quartet, positions continue to change frequently. At around 10 a.m., "Allagrande Mapei Racing", which had regained the lead, "Holcim-PRB", "Paprec Arkéa" and "Biotherm", which had dominated the Ocean Race Europe so far, were separated by just three and a half nautical miles. 75 nautical miles behind the top boat, Team Malizia paid the price for arriving too late in the Strait of Bonifacio. The team was caught there in the transition phase between easterly and westerly winds and subsequently slowed down considerably.

"Malizia - Seaexplorer" co-skipper Francesca Clapcich knew it beforehand: "It's not going to be great for us. The others will get away in good reaching angles. We'll arrive too late and get stuck with no wind. It will be a big loss." The future "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper had not lost her optimism because of this. She said: "Hey, the leg is still long and we've already seen crazy things happen in the Mediterranean. A leg is never over until it's over."

Two-tier society on stage four

The Italian-American's predictions about the setback in and after the Strait of Bonifacio came true. One of the more than 4000 fans who watched Team Malizia's video clip on Monday commented: "What a death trap in this strait. Like sailing in a vacuum. I felt your pain." Malizian Cole Brauer commented: "Our weakest point on this boat is really reaching in lighter winds."

That was a bit disheartening." Cole Brauer

A two-class society has developed on leg four: the furious four at the front, with "Malizia - Seaexplorer", Team Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive with skipper Pip Hare and Alan Roura's young Swiss team on "Amaala" at the back since the serious setback south of Corsica. It would take a major Mediterranean miracle for the three chasing boats to be able to attack the front once again.

However, the fierce "Frankie" Clapcich did not lose her sense of humour over the setbacks. Born and raised in Italy, the Ocean Race winner and prospective Vendée Globe challenger said over a quick supper in the cockpit, looking ahead to the heated bag meal and her imminent arrival back home in Italy: "Just look at this pasta carbonara in the bag. They'll probably throw my passport in the fire. It's going straight to prison..."

"Grande finale" for Allagrande?

At the same time, all eyes of the passionate Italian fans will be on Team Allagrande Mapei Racing, which recently fought a thrilling bow-to-bow battle for the top position on Tuesday morning between La Spezia and Sestri Levante in Liguria with the "Holcim-PRB" skippered by Nico Lunven on this leg. Ambrogio Beccaria and his French crew want nothing more on leg four of the Ocean Race Europe than exactly this victory in their skipper's home country.

With less than 150 nautical miles to go to the finish line off Genoa, the quartet already entered the triangle off Genoa on Tuesday morning, which they still have to complete before the final. The battle for victory is expected to continue until the finish line and will keep sailors and observers alike on the edge of their seats.

Before crossing the finish line in Genoa, the crews first have to round a mark off the island of Gallinera near Alassio, then head back towards Livorno and finally on to the Ligurian capital. "Since we entered the Gulf of Genoa, there have been thunderstorms and the wind has been blowing in all directions," said Nicolas Lunven, describing the challenging scenario for the final sprint, in which the four leading teams struggled at times on Tuesday morning with less than a handful of knots of boat speed.

Ocean Race Europe: meander, fight, keep up

"Biotherm" skipper Paul Meilhat, whose team has won every classification in the Ocean Race Europe so far, said of the scenario: "We are still side by side. We will spend the day and night weaving our way through the Gulf of Genoa. And we have to stay close to the competition." Everything recently pointed to a night-time thriller. The leading boats are expected to cross the finish line off Genoa on Wednesday night.

The Malizia clip from the previous day provides a good insight into how and why the team led by skipper Boris Herrmann fell behind on stage four: