Hugo Boss next to finish Barcelona Race

by Barcelona World Race on 13 Feb 2008 The winner of the inaugural Barcelona World Race is Paprec-Virbac 2. Skippers Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall steered their boat across the finishing line at 20:49 GMT last night, after 93 days at sea, exactly three months after the start. Both men were elated with the victory, celebrating with family, friends and team mates into the wee hours of the morning.

'It is an immense pleasure and a really deep feeling today,' said Jean-Pierre. 'Crossing the finish line, this victory represents more than a year of work. Damian and I are very happy to be here and to leave our mark on the first edition of the Barcelona World Race.'

With Paprec-Virbac 2 home and cooled, four boats remain at sea, with Hugo Boss the next team scheduled to finish. But conditions remain uncomfortable for Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape as strong headwinds of up to 30 knots are forecast between their position and Barcelona. Their last days of the race are proving to be among the hardest they've faced.

Temenos II is on track to reach the Strait of Gibraltar on Thursday morning. Michèle Paret sounded fatigued on the video conference today following a busy night at sea.

'It's more humid and certainly getting colder and we had rain last night, due to the low pressure system,' she told us. 'We had to manoeuvre a lot over night, so yes, we're a little bit tired now. With the guys ahead finishing, we're starting to think about arrival a little bit more and the end of this great adventure.'

Behind them, Mutua Madrileña continues to fight to close the gap, which is now 266 miles. The Spanish duo are trying to wind their way through the Canary Islands - this morning they were southeast of Gran Canaria, but making slow progress.

Further back, Educación sin Fronteras is making good progress directly north at 10 knots. Servane Escoffier had a chance to speak with Jean-Pierre and Damian and congratulate them on the win.

'Both Albert and I are really, very happy for JP and Damian,' she said after both skippers encouraged her to join them in Barcelona! 'They are the perfect winners of this race with a good boat and a good team. It's the best thing that could have happened.'

The latest ETA for Hugo Boss to finish is overnight Wednesday night. Temenos II is projected to finish overnight on the 16th of February, and Mutua Madrileña on the 18th.

Watch 'The Barcelona World Race': Episode Three of the six-part series, 'The Barcelona World Race' is now available to watch online at: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com/player/. A new episode will be posted every Friday.

Day 94 - February 12 14:00 GMT - Position report with distance to leader

1. PAPREC-VIRBAC 2 - Jean Pierre DICK / Damian FOXALL - winner
2. HUGO BOSS - Alex THOMSON / Andrew CAPE - 331 to finish
3. TEMENOS 2 - Dominique Wavre / Michele PARET- 942
4. MUTUA MADRILENA - Javier SANSO / Pachi RIVERO - 1208
5. EDUCACION SIN FRONTERAS - Servane ESCOFFIER / Albert BARGUES - 2674

Abandoned - VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT - Roland JOURDAIN / Jean Luc NELIAS
Abandoned - ESTRELLA DAMM - Guillermo ALTADILL / JONATHAN MCKEE
Abandoned - DELTA DORE - Jérémie BEYOU / Sidney GAVIGNET
Abandoned - PRB - Vincent Riou / Sebastien JOSSE

Quotes - Roland Jourdain, Veolia Environnement pays tribute to the winners: 'I'm really delighted for them! Jean-Luc and I would have liked to fight to the end to finish at their side, but the race decided otherwise. Jean-Pierre and Damian have really done great work. Nothing more can be said! I hope that they willenjoy all the best parts of this fine finish in Barcelona and again, well done for this victory!'

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