Dongfeng to feature in 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race
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E-mail Xinhua, May 17, 2017
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China's Dongfeng Race Team unveiled their 12-strong squad on Tuesday as the team will compete in the 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race starting from this October.
It was the first appearance for China's Dongfeng team in the tournament after the 2014-2015 season, when they were placed third on overall rankings. It was the first time that a Chinese race team finished on the podium in Volvo Ocean Race, a tournament among top three sailing races along with America's Cup and the Olympic Games.
The 43-year-old Frenchman Charles Caudrelier, who led the team to a historical third place two years ago, was re-established as the skipper of the Dongfeng team.
"We are ready to fight again. I want the group of people on the boat to grow stronger in adversity, never give up and have some fun along the way too," said Caudrelier.
"We will be living in close quarters for months. We will be wet, cold, hungry, hot, exhausted and desperate for sleep at times, so the relationships we build have to be strong to withstand those pressures," he added.
Yang Jiru, Chen Jinhao and Liu Xue, three Chinese faces who were selected into the squad in 2014-2015, once again had their position in the team this time. Experience along the journey was what they cherished the most.
When asked whether the second time in Volvo Ocean Race will be tougher than the first, Yang gave a "yes and no" answer.
"Yes, it's for the risk itself. The total distance of 45,000 nautical miles will be 5,000 more than that of last edition.
"But at the same time, I will say 'no', because I was present in last Volvo Ocean Race, and I've got a lot of experience from it. I trained myself for the last one and a half years to get stronger, more experienced and more confident than who I was three years ago," said Yang, called "wolf" in the team.
Starting from the Spanish harbor of Alicante on October 22, the 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race will visit 12 cities around the world, including Hong Kong and Guangzhou of China.
The team has already been training for more than 120 days on the water in its newly-refitted Volvo Ocean 65. The next big race for the team is the Rolex Fastnet Race in early August and then the Plymouth to Lisbon Race for Volvo Ocean Race crews starting on August 10.
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