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Assa Abloy victorious in home port

Assa Abloy celebrated in their home port of Gothenburg

GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- Assa Abloy kept alive their hopes of an overall win in the Volvo Ocean Race when they won the penultimate leg to their home port of Gothenburg on Wednesday night.

This was the third leg win for Neal Macdonald and his crew and brings Assa Abloy to within five points of overall leader Illbruck who could only manage fourth place on the leg.

The stage is now set for a showdown on the final 250-mile leg from Gothenburg to Kiel, Germany on the 8th June.

Assa Abloy now has the difficult task of finishing six places ahead of Illbruck on the shortest leg in the race. Behind the two leaders there promises to be a battle for overall third place on the leg to Kiel with three boats currently sharing third place.

QUICKVOTE Who do you think will win the Volvo Ocean Race? Illbruck Assa Abloy Another yacht View Results

Amer Sports One, Team Tyco and News Corporation each have 40 points on the overall standings.

"The leg to Kiel is all about third place. Assa Abloy is in a whole other race now," said Amer Sports One skipper Grant Dalton after he finished in a disappointing fifth into Gothenburg.

Five yachts were within sight of each other at Gothenburg after 1,075 miles of racing and less than seven minutes separated them as they crossed the line.

Having spent one-and-a-half years training out of Gothenburg, it was a dream come true for Magnus Olsson on Assa Abloy.

"This was the main leg for us -- coming into Sweden," said Olsson.

"It has been a dream for so long, I was on the committee of the Volvo Ocean Race before I got the money to start my own campaign. I was there to decide that Gothenburg should be a port in the Volvo Ocean Race and now I am coming home."

Volvo Ocean Race:

Leg Eight Results: La Rochelle - Gothenburg

Volvo Ocean Race: Overall Points After Eight Legs