Skipper Kevin Escoffier and his Team Holcim – PRB have won Leg 2 of The Ocean Race from Cabo Verde to Cape Town after a tense battle through the final miles of the race.
At sunrise on Sunday morning, four teams were in the fight for the leg win, with Biotherm, 11th Hour Racing Team and the Holcim – PRB crews racing in lockstep in light and changeable conditions.
A glance at the tracker tells you all you need to know. The top four boats are all within 7 miles in terms of distance to finish.
And the fastest boat in the fleet is fifth-placed GUYOT environnement – Team Europe, now just 80 miles back on the advantage line. Two days ago that delta was over 500 miles!!
Team Malizia was some 20 miles to the south, but then spent the next three hours just about sailing around the leading trio.
But the light and fickle winds didn’t hold for them and in the end it was a three boat race among the northern trio.
Just three hours before the finish, Escoffier and his team finally popped up at the head of the rankings, having been able to sail a slightly better angle at a similar speed towards Cape Town, creating the narrow separation necessary to eke out a winning position.
This is the second consecutive leg win for Escoffier and his team, who maintain a perfect record, and will extend their advantage on the race leader board.
Volvo Ocean Race / ABC Flash Point News 2023.
A great battle between team, Switzerland, France, Germany, USA and Europe.