The coastal race of Genoa is the perfect colophone of the first edition of The Ocean Race Europe

The Offshore Team Germany (GER) and the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR), in which the Spanish Willy Altadill is the head of the guard, have proclaimed themselves absolute winners in IMOCA and VO65 respectively in the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe, after an exciting last coastal race that has been held in Genoa on Saturday.

The low wind conditions at the expected time of departure, 12: 00 local time, forced the race committee to postpone it until the wind rose, and the race finally started at around 13: 40, with conditions of 7 to 10 knots of wind from the southeast.

The departure of the VO65 was pure adrenaline, with two ships, the Sailing Poland (POL) and The Austrian Ocean Race Project (AUT), having to turn after being forced out of the end of the ship's exit line of the committee, and three other ships: AkzoOcean Racing (NED), Ambersail-2 (LTU) and Team Childhood I (NED), having to retake the exit after making an off-line.

With a tactic to stay away from the pressure of the rest of the fleet and sail clear, the leader of the VO65 general, the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, led by Yoann Richomme and with the Barceloness Willy Altadill on board, made an excellent exit and achieved a clear advantage from the start.

Despite going through some phase of nervousness in the last stretch, where they made a mistake by making a 'peeling' (to set up a candle while the other one was being arrested) and were threatened by the Sailing Poland, the Portuguese team finally maintained its initial advantage to take the win in the coastal race and thus seal the victory in general in The Ocean Race Europe.

The second place in the coastal race was the Sailing Poland, patrolling by Bouwe Bekking and with the canary Simbad Quiroga on board, which served him to escape to the second place in the general, tied to points with the AkzoNobel Ocean Racing, led by the Australian Chris Nicholson, who went down to the third place

Meanwhile, the battle for the first general position in the IMOCA class was decided in an almost final photo ending between Robert Stanjek's Offshore Team Germany and Thomas Ruyant's LinkedOut.

The Offshore Team Germany had led the first two sections of the tour, in the form of a triangle, but it fell to the second position at the beginning of the last stretch as it was advanced by the 11th Hour Racing Team after a misrun on the second beacon of the tour.

The victory on the coast of the 11th Hour Racing Team took them to the second place in the general in the IMOCA class, one point ahead of the French LinkedOut, which fell to the third place in the general.

For the Portuguese team Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, the victory in the VO65 class is the result of a very consistent performance that allowed them to accumulate the maximum points in the second and third ocean stages, and in the two coastal races of Cascais and Genoa.

IMOCA
1.Offshore Team Germany - 16 points
2.11th Hour Racing Team - 15 points
3.LinkedOut - 14 points
4.Corum L'Épargne - 7 points
5.Bureau Vallée - 5 points

VO65
1.Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team - 21 points
2.Sailing Poland - 17
3.AkzoNobel Ocean Racing - 17
4.Team Childhood I - 12
5.The Austrian Ocean Race Project - 10
6.Viva Mexico - 9
7.AmberSail-2 - 9

Classification of the coast of Genoa (only the first three on the coast point)

IMOCA: 1st 11th Hour Racing Team, 3 points; 2nd Offshore Team Germany, 2; 3rd LinkedOut, 1
VO65: 1st Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team 3 points; 2nd Sailing Poland, 2; 3rd Viva Mexico, 1

2021 / 06 / 18: The fleet is played the title of The Ocean Race Europe in the mini coastal race in Genoa

The classification is as equal in both the IMOCA and VO65 division that the coastal race on Saturday will decide the winners of the first edition of The Ocean Race Europe

After three weeks of intense ocean and coastal navigation, which has led the fleet of 12 ships from The Ocean Race Europe to travel more than 2,000 miles (3,700 km) from France to Italy with scales in Portugal and Spain, the first edition of the event will reach its culminating point on Saturday with the dispute of a last coastal race in Genoa (Italy).

There are bonus points for the first three classified in both classes (three points for the first, two points for the second and one for the third) and, with the enormous equality in the podium positions in the general classification of the event, the Saturday coastal race will decide the final classification in both classes.

In the VO65 class, the Portuguese Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team has been up to its favorite status to win the event.

The team, led by French patron Yoann Richomme, led much of the first stage from Lorient (France) to its base port, Cascais (Portugal), before falling to seventh place in the last miles. Since then, however, Richomme's crew, in which the Spanish Willy Altadill is one of the guards, has accumulated the maximum of points, with victories in the coastal race of the Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy and in the second stage (from Cascais to Alicante) and the third (from Alicante to Genoa).

This dominant action has given 18 points to the Portuguese team and yet its position at the top of the VO65 classification is not assured.

The crew of the Dutch AkzoNobel Ocean Racing has gone to rebuff the regatists of the Mirpuri Foundation during this first stage of The Ocean Race Europe, and currently occupies second place with 17 points after finishing fifth in the first stage, second in the coastal race of Cascais and second in the two and three stages.

Led by the Australian Chris Nicholson, Olympic and with five laps in the world behind his back, the Dutch ship's crew is looking for victory in the general and tomorrow will seek any opportunity to defeat its rivals in the fight for the first place.

Similarly, the third ranked Sailing Team Poland (POL), patrolled by the Dutch Bouwe Bekking and with the canary Simbad Quiroga in its ranks, which finished third in the 2017-18 edition of The Ocean Race, has 15 points and therefore also has the overall victory.

The part is of very low winds in Genoa at the time scheduled for departure for VO65 (12: 00 local time / 12: 15 for IMOCA 60). If the wind conditions are too poor to compete, there could be a postponement in the water, and according to the rules of the event, the last possible departure hour is at 14: 00 local time. If there is no coastal race due to the little wind, the classification after stage 3 would become the final general of The Ocean Race Europe. Following the race, the ground award ceremony will be held for the three best teams in the IMOCA and VO65 classes.

IMOCA
1.Offshore Team Germany, 14 points
2.LinkedOut, 13
3.11th Hour Racing Team, 12
4.CORUM L'Epargne, 7
5.Bureau Vallée, 5

VO65
1.Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, 18 points
2.AkzoNobel Ocean Racing, 17
3.Sailing Poland, 15
4.Team Childhood I, 12
5.The Austrian Ocean Race Project, 10
6.AmberSail-2, 9
7. Viva Mexico, 8