Volvo Ocean Race: "Forget Prison Break, House of Cards and Breaking Bad!"

Has the three-way battle for overall victory in the Volvo Ocean Race already turned into a duel or can Team Brunel, which has fallen behind, strike back again over the remaining 650 or so nautical miles with a deficit of around 21 nautical miles on Friday lunchtime? Just under 23 hours after the start of the eleventh and final leg of the 13th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, it looked as if the two red boats had left the yellow one behind. On course for The Hague, the front runners headed for the mark off Aarhus before setting course for the North Sea again.

Overnight, the Dutch team had caught a gap of more than 25 nautical miles at times. Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking and his team were able to reduce this somewhat by midday on Friday, but the current "one-way sailing" towards Aarhus will not result in any major decisive shifts for the time being. Nevertheless, the Dutch have two days and around two thirds of the final stage left to turn the tide in their favour. The fact that Mapfre and Dongfeng are in a duel and that this may cost them a bit of speed here and there could also help Bekking's team.

Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team just sent these pictures from the first day of the 11th stage

From the perspective of the two red boats, the stage is going according to plan. Dongfeng and Mapfre fans are cheering on all channels. Especially for Charles Caudrelier's Dongfeng Race Team, who stayed out of the opening scramble between Brunel and Mapfre at the start and took the lead shortly afterwards, which they have not relinquished so far. "It's just going to be a huge battle," the Dongfeng Race Team nevertheless announced on social media on Friday morning. Everyone involved in this sailing thriller knows that this battle could continue until the finish line off The Hague. Volvo Ocean Race fan and observer Jan Benedictus noted in a comment on the coverage: "Forget 24, Prison Break, House of Cards and Braking Bad. This is the new addictive programme for the next 60 hours: www.volvooceanrace.com/en/tracker ". https: