Main Page | Newsletter | Sailing calendar | America's Cup | Glossary

Assa Abloy challenges Illbruck

McDonald shows off the trophy for winning leg five

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Assa Abloy skipper Neal McDonald has thrown down the gauntlet to Volvo Ocean Race leaders Illbruck, insisting the race is far from over.

The British skipper of the Swedish boat said Assa -- in overall second place with 34 points after six of the nine legs -- can still catch the German-backed syndicate in the next legs.

McDonald told the race's official Web site: "Our programme has shown we are going to keep pushing to the end and that makes a difference.

"We just do what we know best, keep battling and battling and battling."

YOUR SAY E-mail us with your views  on the world of sailing   RESOURCES Sailing Glossary     QUICKVOTE With Illbruck holding such a commanding lead, has the Volvo race lost its edge? Yes No View Results

John Kostecki's Illbruck had threatened to turn the race into a procession after quickly stamping their authority on the eight-strong fleet.

The pre-race favourites won the first two legs -- Southampton to Cape Town and Cape Town to Sydney -- in impressive style and after finishing fourth in the next leg, again left their rivals flagging on the brutal Auckland to Rio de Janeiro leg of the nine-month marathon.

But Assa, after a slow start, which led to skipper Roy Heiner being replaced by the 38-year-old McDonald, came through to win the Sydney to Auckland third leg and the Rio to Miami fifth leg.

Assa's revival under McDonald has been enough to persuade Kostecki to take nothing for granted.

"Everyone has copied our sail programme and they've caught up in that area," Kostecki told Reuters.

"Light air running has always been a weak spot for us. With a strong possibility legs eight and nine could be light downwind legs this certainly opens a wind of opportunity for the chasing boats," he added.

Just three legs remain, starting on April 28 with the 3,400 nautical mile haul across the Atlantic to La Rochelle in France.

The fleet then heads for Gothenburg, Sweden before the race finishes in Kiel, Germany in early June.

Overall points after six legs

- 1. Illbruck 41 points

- 2. Assa Abloy 34 points

- 3. Amer Sports One 32 points

- 4. News Corp 31 points

- 5. Tyco 28 points

- 6. Djuice 20 points

- 6. SEB 20 points

- 8. Amer Sports Too 10 points