The exact course of the next Volvo Ocean Race has been taking shape bit by bit over the last few days. After Alicante was finalised as the starting port, Cape Town as the first stage stop and Lisbon as the first European port, Lorient is now definitely the first sprint stage.
Volvo Ocean Race Director Knut Frostad was delighted that a French team, Franck Camma's "Groupama" team, is back at the start and that there is now also a finish harbour there: "It has long been our goal to rekindle the passion of the French for this event and we are very pleased that we have succeeded in reaching an agreement with the city fathers of Lorient."
No French team had taken part in the ocean classic since 1986, even though plenty of crew members from other teams came from there.
The leg from Lisbon in Portugal to Lorient therefore promises to be an intense sprint leg, with just under 630 nautical miles across the Bay of Biscay. Lorient has been the Mecca of the French offshore sailing scene for a number of years, with many of the big teams such as Groupama, Banque Populaire and stars such as two-time Vendée Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux and Alain Gautier based here.
Volvo Race Management plans to announce a further European destination port this week, and the entire route should be finalised by the end of the month.
The next edition of the race will start in autumn 2011.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
