Forecasted storms often have the peculiarity that they hardly stick to the announcements. Of course, the fleet in the Volvo Ocean Race had to weather a lot of wind when they encountered Storm Alberto, but mostly from the front. As a result, there was no chance of a speedy race and perhaps even a new 24-hour record, which would have been due but has been a long time coming despite all the promises of the new generation of VO70 yachts since 2008.
Despite this, Franck Cammas and his Groupama team almost got away from everyone because he was the first to go with a well-placed jibe when the race got underway. However, the fun didn't last long and the French were also the first to get stuck again when Alberto ran out of steam.
This gave the others, especially Telefonica, the opportunity to catch up. The Spaniards, who have recently been less dominant than at the start of the race, when they won three stages in a row, will be sailing like hell here to remind the world of their position as favourites. Iker Martinez and his squad initially chose the most northerly course on this leg and have thus caught up with Groupama.
This duel between France and Spain, which carries so much weight in football, also weighs heavily here, as the two teams are ahead in the overall standings and are only separated by seven points. As things stand, Groupama would reduce the gap to Telefonica to two points, which would undoubtedly revitalise public interest in the final two short stages. But this is of course speculation, as there are still more than 2,600 miles to go until Lisbon, the finish of the current stage.
Further back, Abu Dhabi (-23 miles) and Puma (-25) are battling it out for third place on the podium, while Camper and Sanya are already a little further behind and losing ground.
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