After more than 12 days, 3,500 miles and what felt like 100 different weather systems, which took the Volvo fleet through a tropical storm to the drift ice limit, the previously disappointing Abu Dhabi has its first stage win in the bag. With luck and skill, Ian Walker and his team crossed the finish line in Lisbon less than six minutes ahead of Groupama. Puma followed in third place, followed by Telefonica, who managed to catch Camper by a paltry 1:42 minutes at the end, but still had to cede the overall lead to the French team for the first time since the start of the race.
"You can hardly make the last ten miles more difficult," said an overjoyed Walker at the finish. "It's a huge relief after such a tricky race. Everyone knows we're not as fast as some of the others, so we had to compensate by other means."
Although Abu Dhabi received 30 points for winning the stage, they remain fifth in the overall standings. Groupama scored 25 points and is now top of the table, three points ahead of Telefonica and twelve ahead of Puma, who knocked Camper off third place.
Overall ranking after seven stages
- Groupama 183
- Telefónica 180
- Puma 171
- Camper 162
- Abu Dhabi 104
- Team Sanya 32
