Please select your home edition
Edition
C-Tech 2021 America's Cup 728x90 TOP

Team Holcim-PRB lead into Cabo Verde to win Leg One of The Ocean Race

by The Ocean Race 21 Jan 04:22 PST 21 January 2023
Holcim - PRB Team crew rises The Ocean Race Leg Winner flag in Cabo Verde © Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race

French skipper Kevin Escoffier led his Swiss-flagged Team Holcim-PRB to victory in leg one of The Ocean Race in the early hours of Saturday morning.

It marked the end of an intense and challenging opening to The Ocean Race - from storm force headwinds in the Mediterranean to fast downwind conditions in the Atlantic with tactical options around the Canary Islands.

The Holcim-PRB team took the lead just before Gibraltar Strait and held on the rest of the way despite the strong pushes from 11th Hour Racing Team and Malizia.

Finally, early on Saturday, Escoffier and his crew raced across the finish line on the waters off Mindelo, Cabo Verde, just after 02:01:59 UTC, completing an impressive performance on the first leg of the Race.

"The boat is great. Both upwind and downwind, reaching, we have always been fast," Escoffier said. "I'm very happy to start like this. It was our first race together as a full crew and I don't regret any of the the choices. They are all great and together we went for the win."

Second across the line was Charlie Enright's 11th Hour Racing Team, who held off a late challenge from Team Malizia on the final day of the leg.

"I think the competition is good," said Enright on the dock after finishing. "We have fast boats, good sailors. There are different strengths and weaknesses in the boats. Everyone is going to have their day and we're certainly not taking anything for granted but if we focus on what we can control I think we're going to be fine. We're jumping at the opportunity to get going on the next leg.

For Boris Herrmann, securing a podium finish puts the German team in a safe position after the opening stanza, with six more legs of racing left to gain points.

"I'm super-happy with the performance of the boat and the team," said a jubilant Herrmann moments after the finish. "It took nearly three days before we could even speak to each other as the boat was so loud and brutal in the tough conditions after the start. Then we started to an almost champagne sailing situation, quite fast and nice."

The top three IMOCAs finished within five and a half hours. Fourth-placed Biotherm and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe are forecast to arrive in Mindelo later on Saturday afternoon.

In the VO65 class, the Polish WindWhisper Racing Team is in a strong position at the head of the fleet over Team JAJO and Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team. All three should finish on Saturday afternoon, with Austrian Ocean Racing - Team Genova, Ambersail 2 and Viva México further behind.

These teams are competing for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup and will pause their racing activities after this opening stage until the spring, when they resume racing in Aarhus, Denmark.

For the IMOCAs it's a short - and busy - break. The sailing teams are required to carry out repairs without the assistance of their shore crews at this stop. Racing resumes in just a few days, with the Cabo Verde start of Leg Two to Cape Town, South Africa scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Rankings at 07:00 UTC - 21 January 2023

IMOCA
1. Team Holcim-PRB, winner leg one, finished - 5d 11h 01min 59s
2. 11th Hour Racing Team, finished - 5d 13h 50min 45s
3. Team Malizia, finished - 5d 16h 35min 21s
4. Biotherm, 219.3 miles to finish
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, 51.7 miles to leader

??VO65?
1. WindWhisper Racing, 125.0 miles to finish
2. Team JAJO, 50.4 miles to leader
3. Mirpuri Foundation Race Team, 134.7 miles to leader
4. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 181.3 miles to leader
5. Ambersail 2, 211.9 miles to leader
6. Viva Mexico, 842.8 miles to leader

Track the fleet here

Related Articles

The Ocean Race and Cabo Verde team up
Signing a Memorandum of Understanding to protect and restore ocean health Following a successful stopover and hosting of The Ocean Race Summit in January 2023, Cabo Verde and The Ocean Race will focus on protecting and promoting ocean health through sport and science... Posted on 20 Sep
Call for recognition of inherent ocean rights
Made by The Ocean Race and global partners The Ocean Race, the Government of Cabo Verde and US-based Earth Law Center present principles to guide a new relationship with the ocean. Posted on 19 Sep
eDNA data collection in The Ocean Race
Scientists found a link between latitude and the abundance of ocean bacteria that break down plastic Environmental DNA, known as eDNA, one of the most cutting-edge ways to measure ocean health and biodiversity, was collected during The Ocean Race 2022-23 in a world first for racing boats. Posted on 16 Sep
Winner of the 2023 Magnus Olsson Prize announced
English navigator Simon 'SiFi' Fi won The Ocean Race with 11th Hour Racing Team The following is sent on behalf of the Magnus Olsson Memorial Foundation. Posted on 5 Aug
Growing number of cities express interest
In hosting The Ocean Race Europe 2025 Iconic cities across the European continent are expressing their interest in hosting the IMOCA fleet along The Ocean Race Europe route in 2025. Posted on 2 Aug
How The Ocean Race drove action to protect the sea
The race featured the most comprehensive science programme created by a sporting event The Ocean Race 2022-23 featured the most ambitious sustainability programme in the Race's 50 year history, including initiatives that were firsts in the event industry and sports' world. Posted on 18 Jul
2023 Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy concludes
Record number of entries take to water A record number of entries across six sailing classes took to the water in Cascais, Portugal, for three days of racing over the weekend of 7-9 July. Posted on 10 Jul
The Ocean Race Grand Finale in Genova
Sunny skies, very light and shifty winds and enthusiastic crowds on shore Sunny skies, very light and shifty winds and enthusiastic crowds on shore and on the water were the order of the day as this six month, around the world odyssey came to a close. Posted on 1 Jul
11th Hour Racing first US The Ocean Race winner
With North Sails' cutting-edge sail innovations Global leader in sailmaking and performance clothing, North Sails, is proud to have again been the Official Sail Supplier at the Ocean Race 2022-23. The Ocean Race is the ultimate test of sailing prowess, covering 32,000 nautical miles over six months. Posted on 30 Jun
Record number of female sailors in The Ocean Race
More than in any of the previous events in the Race's 50 year history The Ocean Race 2022-23 featured more female sailors than in any of the previous events in the Race's 50 year history. Posted on 30 Jun
Visit Pensacola 2023 FOOTERNorth Sails Performance 2023 - FOOTERPredictWind - Offshore App 728x90 BOTTOM