Paul Meilhat and his team on Biotherm remain perfect on The Ocean Race Europe scoreboard after collecting all the points available over three different scoring opportunities on Leg 2, the longest stage of the event.
Biotherm swept up 16 points (two at the Needles Scoring Gate, seven at the Matosinhos Fly By, and seven more at the finish in Cartagena) on this leg, and are now firmly atop the leaderboard ahead of Paprec Arkéa and Holcim PRB, their running mates on the Leg 2 podium.
“This one was really hard, it was a long leg. We are very tired,” Meilhat said dockside after finishing at 04:53am early on Saturday morning. “Most of this leg was in heavy, downwind conditions which aren’t the best for us, so we just tried to limit the losses to the leader (Paprec Arkéa at the stage) during these times…
“We were also very, very fast downwind after Gibraltar and one minute we were doing 30 knots average on flat water, just incredible sailing, and then within one minute we come down to nearly zero (as the wind dies). These transitions are very hard to manage… But our boat is quite fast upwind in light and medium wind so it’s probably easier for us to sail in these Mediterranean conditions.”
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For Team Holcim PRB the second place finish is their best showing after a third place score at the Fly By stop in Matosinhos.
“It’s amazing to be here in second place… A week ago we couldn’t imagine being on the starting line and now we have fought back as a team and we’re super proud to be here today,” said skipper Rosalin Kuiper.
“It was a very challenging and difficult leg, the weather models didn’t always match what we were seeing. But the spirit is really good on board, it’s a lot of good teamwork. It’s fun, we work hard and play hard and the vibe is very positive.”
On Papred Arkéa, the podium finish is a respectable result, but skipper Yoann Richomme will rue the missed opportunity after leading the fleet during the early, big-wind, high-speed miles in the Mediterranean after Gibraltar.
“Intense racing and very happy with how we sailed, one little mistake had a huge cost for us,” skipper Yoann Richomme said. “That’s the way it’s played but it’s still a good result for us, puts us into second place. I’d say we’re not super-happy with the result, but happy with how we sailed… sometimes the Mediterranean is a bit harsh and it didn’t play out for us this time but you have to accept it and look ahead to the next leg…
“It’s a long race, there’s still another month of sailing to go,” he continued. “We’re tired, it’s intense but it’s super racing, the level is really high and it’s so enjoyable. We’re really happy to be here.”
As of mid-morning on Saturday, four boats remain on the race course, with Allagrande Mapei Racing projected to be the next boat to finish, early in the afternoon and just ahead of Team Malizia,. The separation is small enough that this could change before Cartagena. Further back is the Canadian team, Be Water Positive and Team Amaala.
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Leaderboard (provisional): |
