Volvo Ocean Race: Here we go: The first women come on board!

This is what Volvo Ocean Race boss Mark Turner had in mind when he presented the new crew rules for the race: the first team has signed up two internationally experienced and strong female sailors for the upcoming edition. Because the new crew regulations favour teams with female crew members and allow them a numerically larger team strength, the Dongfeng Race Team is the first campaign for the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/18 to take advantage of this opportunity. With Carolijn Brouwer and Marie Riou, Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier has brought two outstanding female sailors on board.

Carolijn Brouwer has already competed in two races around the world and took part in the Olympic Games alongside Seb Godefroid in the mixed catamaran team at a time when there were no other women in the Olympic discipline of Tornado. The 43-year-old Dutchwoman is one of the most famous sailing athletes on the planet, has competed in the Olympic Games three times and was voted World Sailor of the Year in 1998. She has a son, Kyle Nico (6), with Australian catamaran specialist Darren Bundock. Brouwer speaks six languages fluently and lives with her family in The Hague. Brouwer has gained a lot of experience as a helmswoman in both the Volvo Ocean Race and the Extreme Sailing Series.

Marie Riou, 25, joins the team. The four-time Nacra 17 world champion, whose helmsman Billy Besson injured his back so badly shortly before the Olympic Games in Rio that the pair were no longer able to fulfil their role as top favourites in the battle for the medals, was selected along with Brouwer after intensive tests in Australia and Portugal.

Charles Caudrelier is convinced that he has found the right two sailors for his team: "I chose Carolijn because she often beat us in the inshore races in the last Volvo Ocean Race as helmswoman for SCA. We all know that she is a strong helmswoman. And she has a great Olympic past, for which I have a lot of respect. This Olympic past has made her a very fast helmswoman who knows how to position a boat."

Caudrelier decided in favour of Marie Riou for a similar reason: the Frenchwoman also has many years of Olympic training under her belt. "She is a very good Olympic sailor with tonnes of experience. She is also from Brittany and grew up in the offshore environment. She is strong and - a very important quality for me - brings a good spirit to the team. She is used to sailing with men. For her, the Volvo Ocean Race is a dream. And like Carolijn, she wants to win it!"

The new crew regulations limit all-male teams to seven sailors, which means that the boats are under constant pressure and can hardly be managed at the top level compared to the competition. A seven-man crew can take up to two additional women on board. It was this combination that seemed the most likely from the outset. A team of five men and five women would also be possible. Or a crew of eleven women.

Brouwer had already admired the Dongeng Race Team as a competitor in the last race. "I am very proud to be part of this team. One of the reasons for this is the strong team spirit that prevails in this crew. The Volvo Ocean Race is unique. It's the ultimate challenge, both physically and mentally, because you're part of a team and have to get the best out of everyone." Marie Riou can also hardly wait to get started: "I've wanted to take part in this race since I was ten years old."

So far, only three campaigns - the Dongfeng Race Team under the Chinese flag and with a high proportion of French sailors, the Dutch team AkzoNobel and the Spanish team Mapfre - have officially declared their intention to take part. Further participants are to be announced in the coming months. The Volvo Ocean Race starts on 22 October in Alicante.