Volvo Ocean Race: Walker's way: "Azzam" about to win for the first time?

The question of all questions before tomorrow's expected final sprint of the leaders: Will there be a duel between "Azzam" and "Dongfeng", or can Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel and possibly even the Danish Team Vestas Wind intervene in the fight for the prestigious opening success? The leading team named a decisive factor in the battle for the first stage win yesterday: "Who wants it the most?" In addition to the best positioning, the physical condition of the sailors, who have invested a lot of energy and slept little in their relentless chase through the Southern Ocean over the past few days, will also be decisive. Which team has organised its resources best and can now score points in the final push?

On Tuesday morning, little had changed in the order of the teams as they approached the destination harbour of Cape Town. Ian Walker's "Azzam" had defended its lead over the Dongfeng Race Team overnight. However, the lead of "Azzam" was only six nautical miles. "Azzam" skipper Ian Walker and his men have a man breathing down their necks in the form of 40-year-old Breton and Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier, who is leading his Franco-Chinese team towards the Cape of Good Hope with tremendous willpower even after the equipment failure on Sunday evening. The former Figaro and Transat Jacques Vabre winner Caudrelier may - still - be an unknown quantity in the Volvo Ocean Race, but he is one of the most successful ocean sailors in his native France. Caudrelier said before the race: "Being a skipper in the Volvo Ocean Race means a decisive step in my life as a sailor and as a man." This step seems to be going well for him at the moment.

Ian Walker took his first ocean racing step back in 2008/2009, when he led Team Green Dragon. Walker also made his mark as skipper at the premiere of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing in 2011/2012. However, after two campaigns, the ambitious Briton is still yet to win. Are all good things come in threes for the former successful coach of Olympic champion Shirley Robertson? The two-time Olympic silver medallist said ahead of the twelfth edition of the ocean marathon: "It will definitely be the toughest and closest race in history. Success will come to those who don't have any bad stages. You have to have a strong team. You have to sail fast. You have to bring the boat home in one piece, sail smart and on the right course." So far, the father of two daughters has solved the tasks he has set himself almost perfectly with his experienced team and successful navigator Simon "SiFi" Fisher.

Bouwe Bekking's Team Brunel will now have to think of something if they want to catch up with the two leading boats. Just under 40 nautical miles behind with only just over 400 nautical miles to go to the finish is a high hurdle. The Dutch have also not been sailing in the fastest lane of late, travelling an average of two knots slower than Abu Dhabi and Dongfeng on Tuesday morning. The more than 80 nautical miles gap that the Danish team Vestas Wind has to make up on the top boat "Azzam" seems almost impossible to make up. However, fourth place would not be a bad result for the young last-minute team led by skipper Chris Nicholson at the start. The biggest disappointment is likely to be on board skipper Iker Martinez's Spanish "Mapfre", which was one of the favourites before the start of the race. Sixth place in the field of seven VO-65 yachts would certainly not be the Spaniards' ambition. However, it would take a medium-sized miracle for "Mapfre" to improve on its position, given that it is 527 nautical miles behind the leaders and almost 300 nautical miles behind the currently fifth-placed team Alvimedica.