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French snatch win to stay alive
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (CNN) -- French outsiders Le Defi Areva claimed a dramatic win against Sweden's Victory Challenge to keep alive its hopes of Louis Vuitton Cup glory. Going into the race 3-0 behind in their best of seven quarterfinal in Auckland, the French came from behind to win by 34 seconds. In other races on Saturday, Larry Ellison's Oracle sealed its series against fellow American team OneWorld, winning by 33 seconds. It will race Swiss Alinghi team in the semifinal. Team Dennis Conner beat Britain's GBR Challenge by 34 seconds to take a 3-1 lead. Also through to the semifinals is Swiss team Alinghi. Its quarterfinal opponent, Italian syndicate Prada, withdrew on Friday after losing the first three races. (Full story) Prada now goes into the quarterfinal repechage -- where the winners of the bottom four syndicates meet the losers from the top four. The repechage is due to begin on November 23 The semifinals are due to start on December 9. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup will challenge Team New Zealand for the America's Cup next year. Victory Challenge appeared to be coasting to a series win with a comfortable 31-second lead, until the final windward leg when they failed to cover their French opponents who picked up a right-hanhd shift and came right back into the match. Le Defi rounded the final windward mark 17 seconds ahead of the Swedes who seemed to lose their composure, making a mess of their spinnaker hoist and getting the sail into a tight wrap around the forestay. By the time the Swedes had sorted out the problem the French were home. Louis Vuitton Cup quarter finals fourth race • Oracle BMW Racing beat OneWorld by 33 seconds • Team Dennis Conner beat GBR Challenge by 34 seconds • Le Defi beat Victory Challenge by 34 seconds
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